Abstract P155: Low Vegetable Consumption Doubles The Risk Of Stroke Among Hypertensives In West Africa

Abstract

Background: Low vegetable consumption and hypertension are independently associated with stroke, but little is known about the interaction of these two factors. This study evaluated the interaction of low vegetable consumption with hypertension in stroke occurrence among West Africans. Methods: The dataset for this study was from the 3684 stroke case-control pairs matched for age, sex, and ethnicity in the SIREN Study. Based on clinical examination, stroke assessment was confirmed with cranial computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Controls were recruited from communities around hospitals where stroke cases were recruited. A conditional logistic interaction model was fitted to assess the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), interaction attributable proportion (AP), and synergy index of hypertension and low vegetable consumption in stroke manifestation, adjusting for relevant covariates at a two-sided P <0.05. Results: Participants' mean age was 59.0±14.0 years, 54.2% (4984 of 7368) were males, 62.8% (4627 of 7368) had vegetable consumption of ≤5 servings/week and 76.6% (5643 of 7368) were hypertensives. The odds ratio and 95%CI for stroke among hypertensives with low vegetable consumption was 31.7 (21.3, 42.3) {with RERI of 15.5 (8.7, 22.2); P <0.0001, AP of 49.0%, and the synergistic interaction of 2.0 (1.7, 2.4); P <0.0001}, but 15.7 (10.6, 23.4) among hypertensives without low vegetable consumption. Conclusion: Low frequency of vegetable consumption potentially aggravates the stroke odds, even with hypertension. Interventions promoting vegetable consumption might be promising in alleviating stroke burden and associated complications.