Review ArticleAlcohol is a Risk Factor not for Thalamic but for Putaminal Hemorrhage: The Akita Stroke Registry

BackgroundAlthough the risk factors of cerebral hemorrhage were established long ago, there is little agreement as to the risk factors for the site of cerebral hemorrhage.MethodsWe obtained mass health screening data collected between 1990 and 2000 regarding 151,796 subjects from the Akita Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperative for Health and Welfare. A first-ever cerebral hemorrhage occurring <3 years after the screening examination was defined as an event. Stroke events were determined from the Akita stroke registry between 1990 and 2003. Clinical risk factors for stroke, such as age, blood pressure, severe obesity (body mass index >30 kg/m2), low serum total cholesterol, hepatic disorder, renal disorder, and drinking habits were then assessed.ResultsCerebral hemorrhage developed in 344 cases in the study population. The distribution of subtypes (putaminal hemorrhage [PH], thalamic hemorrhage [TH], and subcortical hemorrhage [SH]) were 122 cases (35.5%), 110 cases (32.0%), and 44 cases (12.8%), respectively. We evaluated the risk factors by multiple logistic regression analysis among these 3 groups. Age was a significant risk factor among these 3 groups, but blood pressure was not a risk factor in SH. Low serum cholesterol and drinking habits were significant risk factors only in PH. Hepatic disorder was a strong risk factor in PH and a weak risk factor in TH. Interestingly, a drinking habit was a significant risk factor only in PH.ConclusionsDrinking habits had been a risk factor for cerebral hemorrhage, but it was a risk factor not for PH and not for TH or SH.