A Prospective Study of Cerebrovascular Disease in Japanese Rural Communities, Akabane and Asahi Part 1: Evaluation of Risk Factors in the Occurrence of Cerebral

SUMMARY An epidemiological study of cerebrovascular disease in Akabane and Asahi, Japan, was made. (These cities are located near Nagoya, Japan.) The study population included 4,737 men and women aged 40 to 79 at the time of entry into the study. There were 4,186 persons who were examined and, of these, 264 cases of cerebro-vascular attacks were observed between 1964 and 1970. The incidence rate of stroke in those persons not responding to the survey was 15.9 times higher than in those persons examined according to person-year observation in Akabane. The risk factors for cerebral hemorrhage and thrombosis were evaluated by age-adjusted and sex-adjusted relative risks. The predisposing factors to cerebral hemorrhage appeared to be high blood pressure, high left R wave, ST depression, T abnormality, capillary fragility counts, previous medical history of stroke, and albuminuria. For cerebral thrombosis, the predisposing factors appeared to be high blood pressure, ST depression and fun