Women who carry extra weight as teenagers or young adults are at a higher risk of having an ischemic stroke before age 55, a new study by the American Heart Association reveals. The research, published in the journal Stroke, analyzed over 50 years of health data and found significant links between early excess weight and stroke risk in women.
An ischemic stroke, the most common type, happens when a blood vessel to the brain gets blocked. The study, conducted in Finland, shows that women who were overweight or obese at 14 or 31 had a higher chance of having this kind of stroke later, even if they lost weight by 31. Men didn't show the same increased risk for ischemic strokes, but men with obesity at 31 had a higher chance of bleeding strokes compared to women.
“Our findings suggest that being overweight can have long-lasting effects, even if it’s just for a short time,” said Ursula Mikkola, the lead author of the study and a researcher at the University of Oulu in Finland. She emphasized that health professionals should help young people with weight issues develop better eating habits and exercise routines without making them feel judged.
The research pulled data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, which included over 12,000 pregnant women from northern Finland. These women’s offspring, now in their 50s, have been part of many health studies. For this study, the researchers used body mass index (BMI) measurements at ages 14 and 31 to see if there was a difference in stroke risk based on weight.
About 1 in 20 participants experienced an ischemic stroke or a mini-stroke during the follow-up periods of almost 39 years from age 14 and almost 23 years from age 31. Women who had obesity at 14 were 87% more likely to have an early stroke, while those with obesity at 31 were 167% more likely compared to women with a normal weight. Women with obesity at 31 also had nearly 3.5 times the risk of a bleeding stroke, whereas men with obesity at 31 had over 5.5 times the risk.
Other factors like smoking, education levels, and age at the first menstrual period for women were considered in the analysis. However, the study couldn't prove a direct cause-and-effect link between weight and early stroke risk because it was observational. Additionally, the findings might not apply to people outside Finland.
Larry Goldstein, a member of the American Heart Association Stroke Council, noted in an accompanying editorial that while this study shows a link between overweight or obesity and stroke in young adults, it's not yet proven that reducing weight in young people will lower stroke rates.
Mikkola highlighted that living a healthy lifestyle, eating well, not smoking, getting enough sleep, managing blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar, avoiding too much alcohol, and staying active can help lower stroke risk, even if someone was overweight when they were younger.
This long-term study included 10,491 participants, with BMI measurements taken at ages 14, 31, or both. The researchers used national hospital and death registers to track strokes and adjusted for various factors like smoking and education.
(Inputs from various sources)
(Rehash/ Susmita Bhandary/MSM)
