United States: A recent research study shows that persistent stress increases the stroke danger for young women.
The development of stroke occurs more frequently among women rather than men under moderate stress exposure, researchers reported in the journal Neurology and found a statistical increase of 78%.
More about the news
According to the senior researcher Dr. Nicolas Martinez-Majander, a neurologist at Helsinki University Hospital in Finland, “More research is needed to understand why women who feel stressed, but not men, may have a higher risk of stroke,” US News reported.
“In addition, we need to further explore why the risk of stroke in women was higher for moderate stress than high stress,” Martinez-Majander stated.
“Knowing more about how stress plays a role could help us to create better ways to prevent these strokes,” he added.
How was the study conducted?
Health professionals studied 426 Europeans between 18 and 49 with cryptogenic stroke alongside 426 healthy individuals without a stroke background.
The survey contained 10 questions for assessing participants’ stress while stroke patients reported their stress experiences during the month before their stroke.
“In the last month, how often have you felt that you were unable to control the important things in your life?” are the kinds of questions the survey included.
The research showed that patients experiencing strokes were more likely to experience either moderate or severe stress levels.
The study revealed that 46% of patients had stress levels either moderate or high compared to 33% of individuals without strokes.
What more are the experts stating?
According to Martinez-Majander, “Younger people often experience stress due to the demands and pressures associated with work, including long hours and job insecurity, as well as financial burdens,” US News reported.
“Previous research has shown that chronic stress can negatively affect physical and mental health,” he added.
The study results revealed that women with moderate stress experienced a 78% higher chance of suffering a stroke following statistical control of stroke determinants.
The research showed no connection between stress and stroke in males.
“One potential explanation for the higher self-perceived stress in women could be related to societal and psychological factors, where women often report experiencing more chronic stress due to juggling multiple roles, such as work, family, and caregiving,” researchers noted.
“By contrast, men may show a stronger association with other risk factors, such as heavy alcohol consumption, which has been previously linked to an increased risk of stroke,” the study added.
Research data could have suffered because men learn to suppress their stress while showing toughness because of cultural norms, according to researchers.