Association between healthy lifestyle and ischemic stroke risk in elderly rural hypertensive patients

Background: Assessing risk factors associated with ischemic stroke risk is important for planning public health interventions, but whether this risk can be changed by modifiable lifestyle factors is unknown. We aimed to explore whether healthy lifestyles (never smoking, never drinking, adequate sleep duration, healthy diet, and regular physical activity) are associated with a lower risk of ischemic stroke.

Methods: This study included 17747 hypertensive patients aged 65 years and above in rural areas of northern China. Lifestyle scores were calculated based on s lifestyle components (never smoking, never drinking, adequate sleep duration, healthy diet, and regular physical activity). Information on participants' lifestyles was gathered through face-to-face interview. The relationship between lifestyle and ischemic stroke was determined by logistic regression analysis based on odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: A total of 17747 participants were included (42.1%female and 57.9% male), 31.20% of whom reported exposure to ischemic stroke. A healthy diet had the strongest effect on ischemic stroke (OR=0.736;95% CI= 0.736 - 0.825), followed by never smoking (OR=0.786; 95% CI=0.731 -0.846), adequate sleep (OR=0.812;95% CI= 0.761 -0.866) and never drinking (OR=0.878;95% CI= 0.797- 0.968). An increased healthy lifestyle behavior score was significantly associated with a lower risk of ischemic stroke. After adjusting for covariates, the prevalence of ischemic stroke was lowest when the score of healthy lifestyle behaviors reached 5, with a decrease of 58.5% compared to participants with a healthy lifestyle behavior score of 0.

Conclusion: Adopting a healthy lifestyle could substantially reduce the risk of ischemic stroke in hypertensive patients aged 65 years and above in rural areas.

Mrs. Guangying Li, a second-year master's student at the College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, China, focuses her research on the analysis of risk factors and intervention strategies for non-communicable diseases. She has led the planning and data analysis of multiple undergraduate and graduate innovation projects, and won the third prize in the National Medical Science Communication Essay Competition, demonstrating her ability to effectively communicate complex epidemiological concepts to the public. Through this academic conference, he looks forward to exchanging innovative ideas on chronic disease prevention and control with fellow professionals, contributing to the development of global public health.