What are the effects of a genetic risk score on stroke risk factors?
Genome-wide association studies have identified common genetic variants for these risk factors. Studies that assess the effect of the cumulative burden of risk alleles of stroke risk factors, as measured by a so-called genetic risk score, are beginning to emerge. For example, the burden of risk alleles for elevated BP was associated with a modest but significant increase in risk for ICH (OR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.02 1.21; P=0.01) in 1025 cases and 1247 controls of European ancestry. Whether a genetic risk score will provide clinically useful information beyond that afforded by clinical risk factors remains uncertain. Arguably, estimating genetic risk remains crude because only a few loci influencing stroke risk factors or stroke susceptibility have been identified.