‘Extremely Concerning’ Stroke Risk For Children Of Divorced Parents

Older adults whose parents divorced when they were kids are nearly two-thirds more likely to have a stroke in later life, a study of more than 13,000 Americans suggests.

This substantially increased chance is comparable to other well-established stroke risk factors like diabetes, researchers say.

The observational study, which probed data on 13,205 people aged 65 and over from a behavioural risk factor surveillance system run by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, found that participants whose parents divorced before they turned 18 had about a 60% increased chance of experiencing stroke.

This elevated risk persisted even after scientist accounted for depression, diabetes and social isolation, all of which are known to increase a person's chance of stroke.

'Extremely Concerning' Stroke Risk

Previous research has found a number of sociodemographic factors can affect stroke risk, including race, older age, lower income, limited education and worse access to healthcare. Other adverse childhood experiences have been tied to the condition before, such as sexual and physical abuse.

Researchers wanted to find out whether or not divorce impacted stroke risk in people who didn't face this same type of trauma in childhood.

"It is extremely concerning that older adults who grew up in divorced families had 60% higher odds of stroke, even after excluding those who had been physically or sexually abused as children," senior author Esme Fuller-Thomson said in a statement. "The magnitude of the association between parental divorce and stroke was comparable to well-established risk factors for stroke such as male gender and having diabetes."

The PLOS One study was observional, so it can only establish a correlation between childhood experience of divorce and stroke. It cannot prove divorce causes stroke later in life, nor can it explain why it might.

The data didn't include information on things like type of stroke, age at divorce, blood pressure, cholesterol or contraceptive use, all of which could influence the results. It didn't look at younger adults, and the results may not necessarily bear out for this group.

Nonetheless, the authors note that parental divorce is linked to higher risk of a number of factors that can themselves increase the risk of stroke, including depression, diabetes, substance addiction, smoking cigarettes and obesity.

Stroke In The U.S

Stroke has a devastating impact in the U.S., affecting around 795,000 people every year, a fifth of whom die from the event. Many of those who survive experience serious, debilitating after-effects, with two-thirds of survivers facing problems with mobility and more than half experiencing some level of cognitive impairment.

Stroke is also expensive to treat and takes many of those affected out of the workforce entirely. It's thought to cost the U.S. about $56.5 billion a year in direct and indirect costs, the study authors note.

Symptoms Of Stroke

It's important to treat stroke as quickly as possible, because this can reduce the damage it has on the brain. That means you should call 911 right away if you or someone else develops the symptoms.

In both men and women, stroke symptoms appear suddenly and may affect one side of the body more. They include numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, confusion, trouble speaking and understanding, sight problems, difficulty walking, dizziness, lack of coordination and balance and headache.

Stroke is a cardiovascular issue, and adults can reduce their risk in many of the same ways they would aim to improve their heart health. This means limiting alcohol intake, exercising regularly, losing excess weight, eating a healthy diet and practicising good sleep hygiene.