Background: Life's Simple 7 (LS7) is a key predictor of cardiovascular disease health where lower scores indicate increased risk for stroke. We aimed to evaluate demographic differences in baseline LS7 risk factors among participants in a secondary stroke prevention trial.
Methods: TIIPS is a phase III, prospective, randomized controlled trial evaluating effectiveness of health coaching for secondary stroke prevention in adults aged ≥18 years with transient ischemic attack or minor stroke (target n=360). The LS7 score is a key secondary outcome. Baseline LS7 scores overall (0-4 = poor health, 5-9 = intermediate health and 10-14 = ideal health) and its individual components of blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, BMI, smoking, diet and physical activity were evaluated by age, sex, ethnicity and event type using the Kruskal-Wallis test.
Results: The trial has currently randomised 236 participants (60% male). The median LS7 score for males was 7 [range 6-8] and females 7 [6-9], p=0.89. The median LS7 score was 6.5 [5-7.75], 7 [6-8], 8 [6-8.75] and 7 [6-9] for those aged <55, 55-64, 65-74 and 76+ respectively (p=0.06). Females had poorer cholesterol scores (p=0.022), while males had a greater proportion with poor scores for BMI, smoking, diet and physical activity (p=0.022). Pacific people has the lowest median LS7 score 5 [4.2-6.5] among ethnic groups.
Discussion: Participants enrolled in the trial were predominantly in the intermediate category of health, suggesting potential for improvement. Important differences in the prevalence of individual risk factors by age and sex should be considered in secondary stroke prevention.