Özet:
Abstract:Stroke is becoming a growingly more prevalent and significant public health problem among young adults around the world. Modifiable lifestyle-related risk factors are the most common cause of stroke in young adults. The aim of this study was to perform a gender-based evaluation of risk factors, stroke subtypes, severity of stroke, level of dependency at hospital discharge, and length of hospital stay among young patients with ischemic stroke in our region. The retrospective study included patients that were diagnosed with ischemic stroke based on patient history and clinical and radiographic findings at Inonu University Medical School Neurology Department between 2015 and 2018. The patients were divided based on gender and the two groups were compared with regard to age, gender, prior stroke, risk factors, neurologic deficits at hospital admission, etiology, radiographic localization, length of hospital stay, and the levels of disability and dependency at hospital discharge were reviewed for each patient. The study included a total of 105 patients diagnosed with ischemic stroke, comprising 65 (61.9%) men and 40 (38.1%) women. Mean age was 46.02±7.29 years in men and 41.18±8.2 years in women and a significant difference was observed between the two groups (p=0.002). The incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM), myocardial infarction (MI), and smoking was significantly higher in men compared to women (p=0.008, p=0.001, and p<0.001, respectively), whereas the incidence of mitral stenosis was significantly higher in women compared to men (p=0.0019). The results indicated that modifiable lifestyle-related risk factors are the most common cause of stroke in young adults and the significance of risk factors associated with stroke in young individuals differs between genders. Future studies with larger patient populations are needed to identify further risk factors and precautions for stroke in young adults.
