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Blood pressure, diabetes, and increased dietary salt associated with stroke – results from a community-based study in Pakistan

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 20, pages 83–85 (2006)Cite this article

Stroke is the third most common cause of death and the first leading cause of disability in developed and developing countries.1 However, data from developing countries on the prevalence of stroke are scarce.2 Reliable estimates indicate a high prevalence of risk factors for stroke in Pakistan,3, 4, 5 but population-based data on the burden of stroke per se in this region are lacking. Evidence from India, while scanty, suggests a high burden of mortality due to stroke, particularly in the younger age group.6

We have previously reported a higher prevalence of hypertension in Pashtuns, one of five major ethnic subgroups in Pakistan (others are Muhajirs, Punjabis, Sindhis, and Baluchis). We, therefore, undertook this study to estimate the prevalence and associates of stroke in the adult Pashtun population in Karachi, Pakistan. The Pashtuns in Karachi are mainly migrants from the North West Frontier province in Pakistan and Afghanistan, who settled in the city Karachi primarily during the 1980s.

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Acknowledgements

Funding sources: supported by a grant from the University Research Council, Aga Khan University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Section of Nephrology, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

    T H Jafar

  2. Department of Community Health Sciences, Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

    T H Jafar

  3. Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Tufts University Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    T H Jafar

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Jafar, T. Blood pressure, diabetes, and increased dietary salt associated with stroke – results from a community-based study in Pakistan. J Hum Hypertens 20, 83–85 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1001929

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