Stroke is a major public health problem with a high burden in Sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to determine the prevalence of stroke in Titirou in Parakou.

It was a cross-sectional study using a door-to-door survey in Titirou (Parakou) from 15 march to 15 October 2016 and included 4671 adults. We did a two stages survey. In the first stage the World Health Organization (WHO) tool for the diagnosis of stroke in community was used. In the second phase all suspected cases underwent neurological exam and sometimes brain CT-scan. The WHO definition was used for the diagnosis of stroke. We recorded the socio-demographic data and the vascular risk factors. The prevalence was standardized on age according to the WHO type population. Multiple logistic regression was done to identify associated factors and estimate the adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) and their 95% confidence interval (CI).

The mean age of the subjects was 27.7±12.9 years with a sex ratio of 0.97. After screening 161 were suspected and 54 confirmed cases, the overall prevalence of stroke in Titirou was 1.156 per 100,000 inhabitants [95% CI: 0.850 to 1.426]. The age-standardized prevalence of stroke was 3223 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The associated factors were age (aPR 1.7 [1.5–1.9] for 10 years), history of hypertension (aPR: 64.8 [46.1–108.9]), diabetes mellitus (aPR: 4.5 [1.6–12.3]), low consumption of fruits and vegetables (aPR: 2.3 [1.2–4.4]), history of heart disease (aPR: 6.0 [2.6–13.7]), family history of stroke (PR: 4.6 [2.1–10.0]). Among the 54 subjects who had a stroke 10 were able to perform the brain CT-Scan: 40% were hemorrhagic and 60% ischemic stroke.

Our study showed a high prevalence of stroke in Titirou and suggested urgent action for prevention.