Characteristics and Risk Factors Associated with Stroke Subtypes among Adult Patients Admitted to the Stroke Unit of Jimma University Medical Center: A Retrospective Cross-sectional Study

Background: Almost 80% of deaths due to non-communicable diseases occur in low- and middle-income countries. Stroke is a great public health problem in Ethiopia. Stroke mortality was estimated to be 14.7% in Ethiopia. Despite this, researches done in Ethiopia on factors associated with stroke sub-types were inadequate. Objective: To assess the characteristics and risk factors associated with stroke subtypes among patients admitted to Jimma University Medical Center. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2017 to May 2018 in the stroke unit of the Jimma University Medical Center. A total of 106 medical charts of patients diagnosed with stroke were reviewed. A checklist comprising relevant variables was used to collect data. SPSS version 21 was employed for data entry and analysis. Pearson chi-square test was used to check the association of different parameters with stroke subtypes. A P-value <0.05 was used as a cutoff point to declare statistical significance. Data were presented using text, tables, and figures. Results: From a total of 106 patients, 67 (63.2%) were men. The mean +/- SD of age was 52.67 +/- 12.46 Year's, and the difference was not significant among stroke subtypes. Among all patients, 59 (55.6%) had ischemic strokes and 47 (44.4%) had hemorrhagic strokes. The most prevalent risk factors significantly associated with stroke subtypes were being male 67 (63.2%) followed by dyslipidemia 43 (40.5%) and cigarette smoking 38 (35.8%). Conclusion: The ischemic stroke was reported to be higher than hemorrhagic in this study. The overall mean (+/- SD) age of the patient was 52.67 +/-(12.46) years. The mean age of hemorrhagic stroke patients was 55.98 (+/- 13.77) years; while in ischemic stroke was 50.03 (+/- 10.70) years. Being male, a history of cigarette smoking, and dyslipidemia were significantly associated with stroke subtypes.