The majority of strokes occur in people over the age of 65. Still, younger persons, particularly those aged 35 to 64 years, are also at risk of stroke. In particular, women under 65 years have unique risk factors for stroke, including
- pregnancy,
- use of oral contraceptives,
- higher prevalence of Migraines, and
- use of hormone replacement therapy.
Comments from the study authors:
“While our analysis shows increased waist size and coronary artery disease are predictors of stroke among women aged 45 to 54, it is not immediately clear why there is a sex disparity in stroke rates among this age group… While further study is needed, this mid-life stroke surge among women suggests prompt and close attention may need to be paid to the cardiovascular health of women in their mid-30s to mid-50s with a goal of mitigating this burden.”
study author Amytis Towfighi, MD;
Stroke Center and Department of Neurology,
University of California at Los Angeles;
member of the American Academy of Neurology.
In addition, Towfighi says several vascular risk factors including systolic blood pressure (upper number) and total cholesterol levels increased at higher rates among women compared to men in each older age group:
“For instance, with each decade, men’s blood pressure increased by an average of four to five points, whereas women’s blood pressure increased by eight to 10 points. Similarly, men had significantly higher total cholesterol levels than women at age 35 to 44, but men’s total cholesterol remained stable while women’s total cholesterol increased by 10 to 12 points with each decade, so that by age 55 to 64, women had significantly higher total cholesterol than men.”
Towfighi says the study also found a greater than expected stroke surge among men who were nearing the end of middle age. Men aged 55 to 64 were three times more likely than men aged 45 to 54 to have had a stroke. Towfighi says the reasons behind this increase warrant further investigation.
Implications and summary:
This study gives us a better assessment of stroke risk at different ages as well as the difference in risk between the genders. It was quite helpful that the authors identified some of the specific risk factors for women between the ages 35 to 64. Although it’s not welcome news to see Migraine listed among those risk factors, it is heartening to see that Migraine is being taken seriously and not overlooked.
