ASSESSMENT OF SOME ATHEROSCLEROSIS RISK FACTORS IN CHILDREN OF PATIENTS WITH YOUNG STROKE

INTRODUCTION: Cerebral strokes below the age of 45 account for up to 3% of all strokes. Given that atherosclerotic thrombotic factors are the most frequent etiology of cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) second to cardioembolic causes, and that children of families with sequels of premature atherosclerosis are considered to be at risk, we assessed atherosclerosis risk factors and antiphospholipid antibody (APL-Ab) levels in children of patients with young stroke (YS) and without cardioembolic causes in comparison to controls. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 27 children of patients with YS due to non-cardiac causes (case group) and 2 control groups, one with 52 children of patients with stroke after the age of 50, and the other with 55 children without the history of stroke in their parents. Findings were analyzed with SPSS using ANOVA test. RESULTS: The mean values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, LDL-C and ApoB100 in the case group were significantly higher and mean HDL-C and ApoA1 were significantly lower in the case group. The number of APL-Ab-positive cases was larger in the case group. The other assessed variables were not different between the two control groups. CONCLUSIONS: Atherosclerotic thrombotic risk factors were more prevalent in children of patients with atherosclerotic thrombotic cerebral YS than in controls. Primordial and primary prevention of these risk factors should be considered in children of these families.