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Interventions That Support Lifestyle Behavior Change for Secondary Prevention of Stroke: A Scoping Review
Beilei Lin, L. Allan, Dominique Ann-Michele Cadilhac, Kiran Bam, Monique F. Kilkenny, Seana Gall, Jan Cameron, Alison Beauchamp et al.. Stroke, 2025-04-28
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Lifestyle behavioral change is a critical component for secondary prevention of stroke. Although evidence for the effectiveness of lifestyle behavior change is growing, methods to promote and maintain behavior change remain unclear. In this review, we aimed to synthesize the evidence for lifestyle behavior change interventions among patients living with stroke or transient ischemic attack. We searched 7 databases to identify studies, including randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental, and longitudinal studies examining changes in cardiovascular risk factors. Data were extracted regarding participant characteristics, intervention attributes (eg, provider, behavior change techniques, and modality), and effectiveness for control of risk factors. From 4620 records identified, 73 studies were included. Information about the type of behavior change theory applied was reported in 36% of studies. The social cognitive theory and transtheoretical models were the most commonly cited frameworks. Changes in physical activity (64%) and blood pressure (63%) were the most frequently assessed outcomes. Fewer than half of the studies assessed changes in weight (41%), blood cholesterol (40%), diet (36%), smoking cessation (33%), alcohol consumption (19%), and blood glucose (18%). No studies assessed sleep as a risk factor. Most studies had mixed effects or no change for the risk factor measured. No studies reported negative effects. Interventions associated with improvements were more commonly delivered by a multidisciplinary team and informed by behavior change techniques. Further research is required to identify the most effective methods to promote and sustain lifestyle behavior change among people living with stroke or transient ischemic attack.
Key findings
- Interventions associated with improvements were more commonly delivered by a multidisciplinary team and informed by behavior change techniques.
Why it matters
This review is about lifestyle behavior change for preventing a second stroke, not Alzheimer's disease, so it offers no information on Alzheimer's treatment, cure or prevention. It found that most included studies showed mixed effects or no change in the risk factors measured.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 53/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Stroke) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Stroke: journal h-index 455 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 9 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 9 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Tharshanah Thayabaranathan: h-index 13 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | The University of Melbourne: institution h-index 1,342 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 11 institution(s) in 4 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40294167) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1161/strokeaha.124.045888
- PubMed: 40294167
- Original source →
- Free full text: ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Lin, B., Allan, L., Cadilhac, D. A.-M., Bam, K., Kilkenny, M. F., Gall, S., et al. (2025). Interventions That Support Lifestyle Behavior Change for Secondary Prevention of Stroke: A Scoping Review. Stroke. https://doi.org/10.1161/strokeaha.124.045888
Vancouver
Lin B, Allan L, Cadilhac DA.-M, Bam K, Kilkenny MF, Gall S, et al. Interventions That Support Lifestyle Behavior Change for Secondary Prevention of Stroke: A Scoping Review. Stroke. 2025. doi:10.1161/strokeaha.124.045888. PMID: 40294167.
BibTeX
@article{lin2025-40294167,
author = {Lin, Beilei and Allan, L. and Cadilhac, Dominique Ann-Michele and Bam, Kiran and Kilkenny, Monique F. and Gall, Seana and Cameron, Jan and Beauchamp, Alison and others},
title = {{Interventions That Support Lifestyle Behavior Change for Secondary Prevention of Stroke: A Scoping Review}},
journal = {Stroke},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1161/strokeaha.124.045888},
pmid = {40294167},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1161/strokeaha.124.045888}
}
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