Knowledge of Stroke Risk Factors and Signs in Parakou, a Northern City of Benin in West Africa

Abstract

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> We aimed to determine knowledge of stroke risk factors and signs in an urban population of northern Benin. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A door-to-door purposeful sampling survey was conducted in resident population (age ≥15 years) of the district of Titirou in the city of Parakou (<i>N</i> = 255,478) in Benin between March 15 and July 15, 2016. In-person interviews were conducted with data collection on structured questionnaires with close and open questions, according to standard definitions. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess predictors of good knowledge, defined by provision of a correct response in pre-defined set of questions on stroke risk factors and warning signs. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Of 4,671 participants (mean age 27.7 ± 12.9 years; females 50.6%), only 404 (8.6%) knew at least 1 stroke risk factor. Knowledge level of stroke risk factors (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval) was related to age (1.37, 1.27–1.48), level of education (2.54, 1.73–3.72), and family history of stroke (3.01, 2.08–4.26). Only 230 (4.9%) were able to cite at least 1 stroke symptom, and this knowledge was great with increasing age (1.04, 1.02–1.06), family (3.63, 2.41–5.49) and personal history of stroke (3.71, 1.86–7.42), and high level of education (4.35, 2.68–7.07). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Knowledge of stroke risk factors and signs is low in northern Benin. Greater public education and awareness campaigns are required to address the burden of stroke.

Knowledge and awareness of stroke in the United Arab Emirates: a cross-sectional study of the general population

“…9,33,40 With regard to stroke symptoms, participants in our study expressed a high percentage recalling at least one stroke symptom (89.9%) compared to studies in Jordan (95.5%), 9 Iraq (76.2%), 33 Portugal (74.2%), 41 Norway (70.7%), 42 Canada (69.5%), 43 Oman (68.0%), 44 Korea (65%), 45 Lebanon (68.2%), 10 and Benin of west Africa (4.9%). 35 In contrast to our study, only (23%) of participants in a prior 2007 study among GCC countries, including the UAE, identified at least one sign or symptom connected to stroke, which is still a low percentage. 22 Sudden difficulty speaking or understanding speech was the most frequently reported stroke symptom in our study (78.0%) with same symptom reported in previous studies in Jordan (92.3%), 9 Iraq (88.0%), 33 China (65.2%), 46 Saudi Arabia (63.8%), 39 Ireland (54%), 11 and Australia (14.2%).…”

“…In comparison, previous studies have reported 98.1% among 573 participants in Jordan, 9 85.4% among 5391 participants in first study in Lebanon, 10 and 97.8% among 551 participants in the second study in Lebanon, 32 76.2% among 822 participants in Australia, 28 76.2% among 609 participants in Iraq, 33 59.6% among 2,884 participants in Spain, 34 and 8.6% among 4,671 participants in Benin of West Africa. 35 Conversely, other previous studies have demonstrated poor knowledge of stroke risk factors and symptoms in the general population. 7,36,37 High blood pressure, hyperglycemia, obesity, renal dysfunction, and hyperlipidemia are all risk factors for stroke, according to the American Heart Association's latest update for 2021, with a further (47%) attributed to behavioral risk factors like sedentary behavior, smoking, and an unhealthy diet.…”

Stroke related knowledge, prevention practices and associated factors among stroke patients in Taizhou, China

“…On the whole, knowledge of warning signs and stroke risk factors was poor among the stoke patients in this study. This finding was aligned with the earlier research concentrating on participants with high blood pressure, which reported that their knowledge level of warning signs and risk factors related to stroke was inadequate ( Bhat et al, 2021 , Houessou et al, 2021 , Melak et al, 2021 ). However, the proportion was lower than the previous research conducted among hypertension patients in Ethiopia (40.7%) ( Woldetsadik et al, 2022 ).…”

A Study to assess the knowledge regarding early identification of stroke and its management among general population who is seeking health care services in a selected hospital Bangalore with a view to develop an information pamphlet

“…Male participants had better knowledge than female. The most identified risk factor was 'unhealthy lifestyle' and the least identified one was 'epilepsy' and 86.6% of the participants agreed that stroke is a medical emergency [9] .  A cross sectional study was conducted to assess the community stroke awareness on knowledge attitude and health seeking behaviour among adults in urban slums of Hyderabad.…”