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Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have developed an AI model that analyzes a person's DNA to better identify genetic risk factors for stroke, paving the way for more personalized risk assessments.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Around 46,000 Australians have a stroke each year, with one in three survivors experiencing moderate to severe disability, which can include long-term impairment.

First author Dr. Yue (Eric) Yang, who recently completed a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence at UTS, said the AI tool is unique because it not only identifies genetic variants linked with stroke but also considers their location in the genome and how they might interact.

"A stroke happens when blood flow to the brain is cut off or severely reduced, usually by a blood clot, which causes brain cells to die. Genetic susceptibility plays an important role in stroke risk, along with lifestyle factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption.

"We tested our AI model using genetic and health data from the UK Biobank, and also against health records from a large U.S.-based database (All-of-us). Our model was more accurate than previous genetic risk tools at distinguishing people who had suffered a stroke from those who had not."

The recently published study in Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine , " Predicting risk of ischemic stroke: A transformer model using genomic data ," identified 18 genetic variants associated with ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke.

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