Hamzehee Moghadam A., Ahmadi Mousavi., S.M.R., Khademi Zadeh KH.

Stroke is the 3rd cause of death and although it is a common disease, its incidence is not the same in different parts of the world and depends on various factors. Opium dependency apart from being a social and cultural problem has several effects on physiological, immune and coagulation systems and consequently the risk of stroke. This case-control study was designed to determine the associations between opium dependency and stroke. The study was done in Kerman Shafa Hospital during 2003-2004 on 105 patients with stroke (case group) and 105 patients with urologic problems (control group). Data were collected using patients history, physical examinations and diagnostic protocols and were analyzed using Chi-Square test. Both groups contained 55 females and 50 males. In the case group 31 ones (29.5%) and in the control group 18 ones (10.5%) were opium dependent that shows a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.001). The relation between cigarette smoking and stroke was also determined (P<0.0001) and since both factors showed significant relation with stroke, logistic regression analysis was done. Odds ratio was 2.207 (P<0.012) for cigarette smoking and 2.36 (P<0.04) for opium dependency respectively.