The Impact of Genetic Predispositions and Lifestyle or Environmental Risk Factors on Stroke Outcomes in the Jamaican Population: A Quantitative Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) experiencing higher incidences due to factors such as healthcare access, lifestyle, and socioeconomic variables. Are Jamaicans, who are predominantly of African descent, predisposed to particular genome and environmental factors that account for the high prevalence of stroke?

Objective: This study seeks to evaluate whether genetic predispositions and lifestyle or environmental risk issues influence stroke outcomes among resident Jamaicans.

Methods and Materials: This study will use a quantitative cross-sectional research design. This approach facilitates gathering data simultaneously, which is suitable for investigating the relationships between genetic, behavioural, and environmental risk factors and stroke outcomes within a population. The sample size will be 291 participants for a meaningful statistical analysis. This research study will use a stratified random sampling approach to verify if subgroups will have different mean values.

Findings: An odds ratio (OR) of 1.033 for diabetes and stroke, controlled for age and gender, suggests a slight increase in stroke odds for individuals with diabetes compared to those without. However, because the OR is close to 1, this association might be relatively weak and not statistically significant (p=.898). This value implies that diabetes may not drastically increase stroke risk in this study population when age and gender are accounted for. Further analysis would be needed to confirm its impact and statistical significance. An odds ratio (OR) of 1.356 for hypertension and stroke, controlled for age and gender, indicates that individuals with hypertension have about 1.36 times higher odds of experiencing a stroke than those without hypertension after accounting for age and gender differences. This issue suggests a moderate positive association, implying that hypertension is a contributing risk factor for stroke, although the effect size is smaller than some other risk factors (p=.278). This finding highlights hypertension's role as a modifiable factor in stroke prevention efforts. The odds ratio (OR) of 2.175 for dyslipidemia indicates that individuals with dyslipidemia have 2.18 times higher odds of experiencing a stroke compared to those without dyslipidemia while controlling for age and gender. An odds ratio (OR) of 0.969 for sodium intake and stroke, controlled for age and gender, suggests that sodium intake may not significantly influence the odds of experiencing a stroke. Since the OR is close to 1, it indicates that for each unit increase in sodium intake, the odds of stroke decrease slightly, but this effect is negligible. This finding implies that sodium intake does not substantially influence stroke risk(p=.118). An odds ratio (OR) of 1.035 for alcohol consumption and stroke, controlled for age and gender, indicates a slight increase in the odds of experiencing a stroke with higher alcohol intake. Since the OR is close to 1, the effect is minimal and suggests that alcohol consumption does not significantly impact stroke risk in this context (p=.904). This finding implies that, while there may be a trend, alcohol is not a significant contributing factor to stroke outcomes when controlling for the specified demographics.An odds ratio (OR) of 1.104 for access to healthcare and stroke, controlled for age and gender, indicates that individuals with better access to healthcare have about 10.4% higher odds of experiencing a stroke compared to those with poorer access. This issue suggests a potential positive association between healthcare access and stroke risk. However, the OR being close to 1 implies that this effect is relatively small and may not be significant (p=.690), indicating that access to healthcare alone may not be a major determinant of stroke outcomes.

Conclusion: This study highlights a vital area in stroke prevention and recovery, emphasising the need for more research into these intersecting influences to mitigate the rising stroke burden in Jamaica. In conclusion, the interplay of genetic predispositions with lifestyle and environmental risk factors significantly influences stroke outcomes in the Jamaican population.