AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY ON SELECTED RISK FACTORS OF STROKE AMONG ADULTS LIVING IN A SLUM OF KOLKATA.
Introduction: Stroke is a major cause of permanent disability. Currently, the burden of stroke in terms of mortality, morbidity and disability is increasing across the world including India. The main risk factor of stroke are high blood pressure, tobacco smoking, obesity, high blood cholesterol and diabetes mellitus. Lifestyle factors that increase the risk of stroke include smoking, drinking alcohol, high fat diet. Objective: To identify the socio demographic prole of study population and to nd out the proportion of selected risk factors of stroke among the study subjects and to assess different risk factors among them. Methodology:An observational descriptive cross sectional study was undertaken in urban eld practice area of a teaching institute of Kolkata. By 2 using the formula 4pq/l , total 200 participants were selected by simple random sampling and they were interviewed during house to house visit with WHO STEPS questionnaire for Non Communicable Diseases (NCD). Results: The mean age of the participants was 42.39 years and 33.5% participants were overweight with high BMI. Only 26 % participants were hypertensive and most of them (57.69%) had duration of hypertension more than 1 year. Majority (72.03%) did not have diabetes mellitus. Most (61%) of study participants had done moderate intensity physical activity regularly. Almost 25.5% study participants consume tobacco products and Most of the study 92.8% participants consumed alcohol 1-4 times in past 30 days. Signicant association were seen between gender and smoking (p=0.005), Gender and alcohol consumption (p=0.000), Religion and alcohol consumption (p=0.03), Occupation category and alcohol consumption (p=0.002), Marital status and hypertension (p=0.001). Conclusion: Effective public health intervention required promote regular exercise and healthy eating, avoiding alcohol and tobacco. Periodic screening for hypertension and diabetes and early diagnosis and treatment are key strategy for stroke prevention.