New research published in the journal Neurology has shown that people who experience chronic stress may be at higher risk of having a stroke.
The case-control study included 426 stroke patients between the ages of 18 and 49 years along with 426 matched controls. Participants in the study were given a questionnaire about stress levels during the previous month. The stroke patients were asked to record their stress levels in the month prior to having a stroke. The questionnaire included 10 questions with a scoring system ranging from zero to four. Total scores were grouped into low, moderate, and high categories. Stress is a potential risk factor for stroke, and the goal of the study was to see how self-reported stress was related to having a stroke.
The results showed that people who subsequently had a stroke were more likely than their matched controls to have at least moderate stress levels. Among those who had a stroke, 46% reported either moderate or high stress levels before having the stroke compared to 33% of matched controls who did not have a stroke. After adjusting for other factors, only female participants had a significant association between stress levels and stroke; females with moderate and high stress levels had a 78% and 6% higher stroke risk than their low-stress peers, respectively.
The authors noted that more research is needed for several parts of this study. First, more research is needed to determine why females and not males appear to have a higher risk of having a stroke when they feel stressed. Second, further exploration is needed to determine why moderate levels of stress had a relatively large impact on stroke risk, while high stress levels had a much smaller risk. Third, the cause of the higher stroke risk in stressed participants is still unknown. The results of this study highlight that fact that stress may negatively impact the cardiovascular system, especially for women.
Sources: Neurology, Science Daily