A case-control study of cerebrovascular disease in Western Australia.
Jamrozik K., Stewart-Wynne E., Ward G., Giele P., Perica J., Phatouros C.
One hundred and twenty-nine patients notified to the Perth Community Stroke Study in whom the final diagnosis was cerebrovascular disease were matched with controls of the same sex and 5-year age group drawn from the records of the usual general practitioner of each index case. The control subjects were interviewed and examined briefly at home, following the same protocol as that used for assessment of cases. The significant risk factors for cerebrovascular disease to emerge in the case-control comparison were previous stroke (estimated relative risk 6.6), signs of peripheral vascular disease (3.6) and current smoking (2.6). Being married (0.6) and history of migraine (0.4) were significant protective factors. There was no association between a history of hypertension and cerebrovascular disease in this series.