Researchers confirm a strong link between COVID-19 and stroke risk, emphasizing the urgency for further investigation into prevention and treatment strategies. Study: Association between SARS-CoV-2 and Stroke: Perspectives from a metaumbrella-review . Image Credit: Kateryna Kon / Shutterstock *Important notice: medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
In a recent research paper uploaded to the medRxiv preprint* server, researchers undertook a metaumbrella review comprising 34 systematic reviews and 70 primary studies to elucidate the risk associations between SARS-CoV-2 infections and stroke. Odds ratio equivalents (eOR) analysis revealed a strong association between the severity of COVID-19 infections and subsequent risk of stroke (eOR = 2.48), with hemorrhagic stroke (eOR = 3.
86) and ischemic stroke (eOR = 2.48) depicting the highest risk. However, significant heterogeneity was observed across many studies, suggesting variability in the results (I2 values > 50% in some cases), which necessitates cautious interpretation of these associations.
The study identified that men and older individuals (mean age of 61.2 years) were predominantly affected, highlighting the demographic groups most at risk for COVID-19-associated stroke. Furthermore, patients with preexisting cerebrovascular comorbidities or prev.