An international team of researchers from Canada and the United States has found that parental divorce during childhood more than doubles the risk of stroke later in life. The respective study was published in the scientific journal PLOS One.
The team examined behavioral risk factors using data from 13,205 elderly Americans, 13.9 percent of whom had witnessed their parents' divorce at an early age.
“Our study indicates that even after taking into account most of the known risk factors associated with stroke—including smoking, physical inactivity, lower income and education, diabetes, depression, and low social support—those whose parents had divorced still had 61% higher odds of having a stroke,” said Mary Kate Schilke, the first author of this study.
The strong association between parental divorce and stroke was similar to that seen with two other known risk factors for stroke: diabetes and depression.
The reason for this apparent correlation between parental discord and stroke remains unclear, the researchers said. Experts believe that this link is due to a combination of biological and social factors.
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