Prevalence of five lifestyle risk factors among U.S. adults with and without stroke.
Ryan R Bailey, Allison Phad, Ryan McGrath and 1 others
PMID 30448248WHAT IT FOUND
Stroke survivors are significantly less likely to exercise, smoke, or eat poorly compared to those without stroke.
They also cluster multiple risk factors, with higher rates of having 2 to 5 lifestyle risks, suggesting targeted prevention efforts are needed.
Key findings
01Adults with stroke had higher prevalence of low fruit and vegetable consumption, physical inactivity, current smoking, and overweight/obesity than adults without stroke.
02Compared to adults without stroke, adults with stroke had increased odds of having 2–3 and 4–5 lifestyle risk factors.
03Prevalence of heavy drinking was similar between adults with and without stroke.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Data were self-reported via telephone survey, which may introduce bias and inaccuracies. The study excluded institutionalized individuals or those with functional limitations that prevented phone survey participation, potentially underestimating risk factors in more severely impaired stroke survivors. Stroke-specific characteristics such as hemiparesis or cognitive impairment were not collected, so their moderating effects on lifestyle risks could not be examined. The cross-sectional design prevents establishing causality or trends over time.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these findings apply to all stroke survivors, particularly those with severe disabilities or those living in institutions, as they were excluded from the survey. The self-reported nature of the data also means actual prevalence of behaviors like smoking or diet may be different.