The association between hay fever and stroke in a cohort of middle aged and elderly adults.

BACKGROUND

Asthma has been linked to stroke, but it is unknown if hay fever is related to stroke. This study was designed to investigate if there is an association between a reported history of hay fever and stroke during a 4.4-year study period.

METHODS

Analysis was performed of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, a cohort of middle aged and elderly adults. We examined the association of a reported history of hay fever to the development of stroke.

RESULTS

There were 9272 participants meeting our criteria, of which 125 had strokes. Of those with a history of hay fever, 2.2% had a stroke. Of those without a history of hay fever, 1.25% had a stroke. Participants with a history of hay fever had an unadjusted hazard ratio of 1.72 (95% CI, 1.08-2.27) for stroke versus participants without hay fever. Risk of stroke remained significant (hazard ratio, 1.87 [95% CI, 1.17-2.99]) after controlling for age, sex, race, smoking status, body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, alcohol use, and hyperlipidemia.

CONCLUSIONS

A history of hay fever seems to be a risk factor for stroke, and this association may be an area for future research and intervention.