Key result
Hypertension predominates as the leading stroke determinant, present in ~91% of patients.
Why the study?
There is a paucity of information on the determinants of stroke and severity among indigenous Africans, especially in rural areas where awareness is poor.
Cross-Sectional (n=152)
No
Hypertension remains the most prevalent modifiable risk factor for stroke among indigenous rural populations in southern Nigeria, highlighting a critical need for targeted primary prevention and blood pressure management.
Supports hypertension screening in rural Nigerian stroke care; extends urban data but leaves open intervention efficacy.
Background: There is a paucity of information on the determinants of stroke and severity among indigenous Africans, which is largely preventable. Knowledge of its determinants and severity would influence practice, prevention and better health seeking behaviours. Unfortunately, its awareness is poor among Nigerians at increased risk especially in rural areas. Method: This was a hospital-based cross sectional study of 152 stroke patients consecutively recruited at the Family Medicine clinics and medical wards of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital between March, 2022 and January, 2023. Stroke was diagnosed clinically based on the WHO criteria and its clinical presentation was obtained from medical history and clinical investigations. Stroke severity was determined using the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Data was entered into Epi version 3.1 and analysed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: The patients were all black Africans with a mean age of (66.05±10.43) years with a Male:Female ratio of 1.5:1. Hypertension (91.4%) was the commonest modifiable determinant followed by obesity (64.5%), diabetes mellitus (DM) (48.7%), alcohol consumption (35.5%), dyslipidaemia (21.7%) and cigarette smoking (17.8%). Hemiparesis (100%) was the commonest clinical presentation, followed by dysarthria (77.6%), sudden facial weakness (57.9%), headache (42.8%), and loss of consciousness (39.5%). Ischaemic stroke was a commoner subtype (65.8%). Majority of the patients had moderate stroke severity (79.6%) and elderly subjects were significantly most likely to have severe strokes. Stroke severity seemed to be more on females than males. Conclusion: The patients were mostly elderly with low socioeconomic status. Hypertension was the commonest determinant and hemiparesis the commonest presentation, meanwhile, convulsion, vomiting, aphasia, coma, and headache were significant presentation in patients with haemorrhagic stroke. The majority of subjects had moderate stroke severity as the elderly were likely to have severe stroke.
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Fuh et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Stroke (n=152). Risk factors for stroke (e.g., hypertension, obesity, diabetes) was evaluated on Determinants (risk factors), clinical presentation, and severity of stroke. Hypertension was the most common modifiable determinant of stroke (91.4%), with hemiparesis being the most frequent presentation (100%) and the majority of patients experiencing moderate stroke severity (79.6%).
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