HIV infection is the leading risk factor for stroke in young African adults, a new study by the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Infection and Global Health has found.

The incidence of stroke is on the increase across most of sub-Saharan Africa. In countries like Malawi, a substantial proportion of stroke patients are young adults, and have a low prevalence of established risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and smoking.

Now, in collaboration with the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, researchers have examined the role of HIV, its treatment, and its interaction with high blood pressure as risk factors for stroke in Malawian adults.