Background: Public health is increasingly concerned with recognising factors that lead to sex differences in stroke. We conducted a study to determine the effect of sex on knowledge of stroke risk factors and warning signs, and how both are perceived, in a representative sample of adults.
Methods: A representative sample of the population of Extremadura, Spain was selected using a double randomisation technique. Previously trained medical students carried out face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire.
Results: 2409 subjects were interviewed [59.9 % women; mean age (SD) 49.0 (18.7) years]. Seventy-three percent of all subjects reported at least one correct warning sign of stroke (OR: 1.01; 95 % CI: 0.84-1.21). The most frequently mentioned warning signs were sudden weakness, dizziness, and headache. There were no sex differences regarding the types of warning symptoms that respondents listed. Women displayed better knowledge of risk factors than men (OR: 1.23; 95 % CI: 1.05-1.46). Women were more likely to name hypertension as a risk factor for stroke whereas men more frequently listed smoking, alcohol consumption and a sedentary lifestyle as risk factors. In response to stroke, women were significantly less likely than men to choose to call an ambulance or to go immediately to hospital (OR: 0.69; 95 % CI: 0.60-0.85).
Conclusions: Stroke knowledge is suboptimal in both men and women. We detected better knowledge of stroke risk factors in women, as well as differences in the type of risk factors listed by men and women. There were significant sex differences regarding response to stroke or to its warning signs.