Albert Akpalu (Ghana)
University of Ghana Department of MedicineAuthor Of 1 Presentation
DIETARY PATTERNS AND ODDS OF STROKE – EVIDENCE FROM THE STROKE INVESTIGATIVE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION NETWORK (SIREN) STUDY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Abstract
Background and Aims
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is gradually becoming the epicentre of stroke worldwide, but continental-wide data alluding to the significance of diets in stroke risk among indigenous Africans are scarce. This study determined the association between dietary patterns (DP) and odds of stroke among Africans.
Methods
3684 strokes patients matched for 3684 controls were recruited across multiple SIREN sites and communities in Nigeria and Ghana. Diet histories (servings and frequency of consumption) were summarized using principal component analysis to identify DP. Stroke was defined using predefined criteria primarily on clinical evaluation following standard operating procedures. Logistic regressions were applied to compute odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for stroke risk by tertile distribution of DP at P<0.05.
Results
Mean age was 59.0±13.9years, 45.8% were females, 8.1% and 29.4% reported tobacco and alcohol use respectively. Seven DP (vegetable-dense-diet, poultry&fish-dense-diet, whole grains-diet, fried&sweetened-foods, red-meaty-diet, pickled/processed-foods and fruit-dense-diet) were identified in this sample. Multivariable-adjusted OR (95%CI) for odds of stroke across tertile distribution (lowest tertile as reference) of DP were; 2nd tertile – 0.82 (0.73, 0.92), 3rd – 0.61 (0.54, 0.69) for vegetable-dense-diet, 1.36 (1.22, 1.53), 1.54 (1.37, 1.73) for poultry&fish-dense-diet, 0.77 (0.69, 0.87), 0.81 (0.73, 0.91) for whole-grains-diet, 1.56 (1.39, 1.75), 1.46 (1.30, 1.64) for red-meaty-diet, 1.02 (0.91, 1.14), 1.12 (1.00, 1.26) for pickled/processed-foods, and 0.91 (0.82, 1.02), 0.84 (0.74, 0.94) for fruit-dense diet.
Conclusions
There is a complex association between dietary patterns and odds of stroke, but regular consumption of a vegetable-dense diet was independently associated with reduced odds of stroke.