Prevalence and Risk Factors of Young Adult Stroke: A Five-Year Retrospective Study in Physiotherapy Clinics in Kano, North Western, Nigeria

Abstract

Stroke is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in young adults especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine  the prevalence and risk factors of stroke among young adults who received post-stroke rehabilitation in physiotherapy clinics in Kano, North-  western, Nigeria. The retrospective descriptive study was carried out in Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, Muhammad Abdullahi Wase  Teaching Hospital, and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. Relevant socio-demographic and clinical information were collected from the patients’ case  files. The data obtained were analysed with descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages. Four hundred and seven (407) out of 1,792 stroke  cases were aged ≤45 years, giving a proportion of 22.7%; slight majority of those affected were females (53.32%). The prevalence of young adult  stroke in Kano Metropolis was 7.7 per 100,000. Most of the young adult stroke cases occurred among house wives (34.89%). The main risk factor of  stroke among young adults in this study was hypertension (75.92%), followed by head injury (10.07%) and sickle cell disease (8.85%). It was  concluded that the prevalence and proportion of young adult stroke were not high in Kano Metropolis when compared with what obtains in other  parts of the West African subregion and Europe. The main risk factor for stroke among young adults was hypertension. Physiotherapists and other  health professionals should embark on community awareness campaign on the need for young adults to have their blood pressures measured  regularly and to be enlightened about the menace of undiagnosed hypertension to their health and wellbeing.