Table 1_The silent risk: cardiometabolic burden and etiology of young stroke in a South Asian migrant cohort, United Arab Emirates.docx

Objectively measured risk far exceeded documented history: only 49.0% had recorded hypertension, yet 74.5% had elevated admission blood pressure; dyslipidemia was documented in 15.9%, yet an abnormal lipid profile was found in 73.9% of those tested; and 29% of all diabetes was first diagnosed at the stroke admission. Small-vessel occlusion was the leading determined ischemic subtype, and diabetes was the only factor independently associated with ischemic stroke (adjusted OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.35–4.07).

South Asian patients differed chiefly by sex and ischemic predominance rather than independent metabolic excess, indicating that ethnicity defined the exposed population while diabetes and hypertension were the operative mechanisms. We conclude that, in this workforce, the low recorded prevalence of vascular risk reflects widespread under-diagnosis, not low true prevalence—stroke was frequently the first presentation of unmanaged cardiometabolic disease, identifying accessible primary care and workplace screening as concrete prevention priorities.</p>