IBD Increases Risk of Stroke

Despite a lower prevalence of traditional risk factors-such as hypertension and diabetes-patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a higher incidence of stroke, said researchers at the University of Miami.¹

In this retrospective cohort study, 356 patients with a diagnosis of IBD were compared with 712 matched controls. The primary outcome was the development of a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), defined as an acute neurological event accompanied by corresponding radiologic abnormality on CT and/or MRI; both ischemic and hemorrhagic events were included.

The incidence of CVA in the IBD cohort was 9.52 events per 1000 person-years, compared with 5 per 1000 person-years in the control group (P < .01). Hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia were significantly more common among controls than among patients with IBD (P < .01); however, there was no significant difference in smoking status (P = .26). The odds ratio for the risk of stroke in the IBD cohort was 2.33 (95% CI [1.14 –4.72], P = .005).

The researchers suggest that premature development of atherosclerosis and hypercoagulability in patients with IBD may be responsible for the increased incidence of CVA.

References:

REFERENCE:
1. Yarur A, Sussman D, Deshpande A, et al. Inflammatory bowel disease increases the incidence of stroke. Paper presented at: 2010 Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Conference; December 9-12, 2010; Hollywood, Florida.