News Releases & Research Results Establishment of a genetic risk score model for ischemic stroke: Validation in a prospective cohort in the “Hisayama Study”

The results of research conducted by Professor Atsushi Shimizu of the Division of Biomedical Information Analysis, Iwate Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (IMM), Iwate Medical University, Professor Toshiharu Ninomiya of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, and others.

• The authors investigated the use of the Iwate polygenic model (iPGM), a genetic risk score model for ischemic stroke that was developed by the IMM in 2016, in a population-based cohort. The Hisayama Study cohort (Fukuoka, Japan) was selected since the age and occupational distributions in the cohort is almost identical to those of Japan as a whole.
• The genetic risk score was a significant risk factor for ischemic stroke independent of hypertension and smoking, which are known risk factors for lifestyle diseases. The level of genetic risk was comparable to the risks associated with hypertension and smoking.
• The findings suggest that genetic information should also be examined during risk assessment for ischemic stroke to identify appropriate and personalized treatment and preventive measures.

This research project was conducted with the support of Tohoku Medical Megabank Project by AMED.

The results of research were published online in Stroke, an International scientific journal on January 31.

Hachiya T., et al. A Genome-Wide Polygenic Score and the Risk of Ischemic Stroke in a Prospective Cohort: the Hisayama Study Stroke
DOI：10.1161/STROKEAHA.119.027520