New Yemeni stroke study reveals the toll on young lives

[الدكتور أحمد باذيب]

A new Yemeni study shows that 3 percent of Yemeni stroke patients are people between 15 and 45 years old. Strokes are a major public health problem since they are one of the leading causes of long-term disability. It is a disease that affects the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain. There are two types of stroke, ischemia and hemorrhage, each with different causes.
Few studies have discussed the incidence of strokes among young Arab demographic groups. Moreover, strokes affecting young people are particularly tragic since they likely create a long-term burden for patients’ families and communities. However, effective prevention cannot be attempted until the risk factors are clearly documented.

“Furthermore, no serious study could be found regarding the risk factors among young adults in our country,” said Dr. Abeer al-Mujahed, one of the members of the research team. “So for these reasons, our study was carried out at the Al-Thawrah hospital, in the city of Sana’a.”

The study, which was ranked first among other studies in the 19th Scientific Conference for Graduate Research held in March, aimed to evaluate distribution of types and risk factors of stroke among 109 affected young adults, ranged between15 to 45 years, during a period covering October 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007. Stroke incidence is higher among men than women globally, and mortality increases with age, particularly after age 55. An incidence rate of about 2 per 1000 per year was estimated for all ages combined.

The study found that about 71 percent of affected people, surveyed for this study, were suffering from the ischemic type of stroke. An ischemic stroke typically results from blockage of an artery that supplies the brain, with blood and oxygen, most commonly a branch of one of the internal carotid arteries. The cardiac embolism was found to be the cause of ischemic stroke in 36 percent of patients.

About 29 percent of patients were found to be affected with the hemorrhagic stroke which involves bleeding within the brain, and damages nearby brain tissue. The brain is very sensitive to bleeding and damage can occur very rapidly, either because of the presence of the blood itself, or because the fluid increases pressure on the brain and harms it by pressing against the skull.

According to the hospital's statistics, the mortality rate of adult stroke victims is 6 percent. Strokes are considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) the second cause of death globally. In 2002 it was estimated that strokes accounted for 5.5 million deaths worldwide, equivalent to 9.6 percent of all deaths. Two-thirds of these deaths occurred in people living in developing countries and 40 percent of subjects were aged less than 70 years.

Hypertension, heart disease, smoking, and dyslipidemia were the most common risk factors for strokes in young adults, the study said. Hypertension was found the major risk factor in 47 percent of affected females while smoking has led about 54 percent of male patients to be affected by stroke. The study then found that prevention has effective strategies to reduce the impact of stroke among this age group.

According to the WHO, the most common symptom of a stroke is sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg, most often on one side of the body. Other symptoms include: confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding speech; difficulty seeing with one or both eyes; difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; severe headache with no known cause; fainting or unconsciousness.

The effects of a stroke depend on which part of the brain is injured and how severely it is affected. A very severe stroke can cause sudden death.

The study finally recommended establishing a separate department to specialize in stroke treatment in the Al-Thawrah hospital – one of the big governmental hospitals in Sana’a.

The study was supervised by Dr. Nagiba Abdul-Ghani, an associate professor of Community Medicine at Sana’a University, and Dr. Hesham Awn, an assistant professor of Neurology at Sana’a University.

It was conducted by a team of researchers at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sana’a University, including Abeer al-Mujahed, Wafa’a al-Khawbari, Sumaia Abu-Huroob, Nawal Mulfi, Alia’a al-Quhazi, Mohammed Halboob, Fadl al-Tairi, Ali al-Sayani, Fahd al-Madoami and Mohammed Shurbaji.

[تباريح]

Great explanation
Thank u so muh