People who have survived their parents’ divorce are more than twice as likely to suffer a stroke in their adulthood, according to a Canadian study reported by EurekAlert.
Researchers from the University of Toronto came to such conclusions after analyzing the data collected through questionnaires among over 13 people. Canadians. Over 10 percent of them had a stroke in their adult life.
Taking into account the age, race and gender of the respondents, the researchers calculated that the risk of this disorder was more than twice as high in the group of survivors of their parents’ divorce in childhood.
We were very surprised to find that the link between parental divorce and a higher risk of stroke persisted even when we considered other factors that made it more likely to have a stroke, including smoking, obesity, lack of exercise and drinking alcohol, said study leader Dr Esme Fuller-Thompson on their presentation at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Gerontological Society, held in New Orleans, November 19-23.
The researchers also took into account other childhood traumatic events and the socio-economic living conditions of the subjects.
A stroke is a sudden disturbance of brain activity for more than 24 hours for vascular causes, such as blockage of an artery that supplies blood to the brain by a clot (ischemic stroke) or rupture of a vessel and hemorrhage (haemorrhagic stroke).
Most often it is manifested by paresis of the half of the body, speech disorders, and sometimes drooping of the corner of the mouth, numbness of the hand or half of the body. It is estimated that 15 million people worldwide suffer stroke every year, and 6 million die of it. This disorder is considered to be the main cause of disability in people over 40. (PAP)