Stroke: People with a common disorder could be ‘three times’ more likely to have a stroke

What’s more, OCD remained an independent risk factor for ischaemic stroke after controlling for other factors known to increase stroke risk, including obesity, heart disease smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

Ya-Mei Bai, professor in the department of psychiatry at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming Chiao Tung University College of Medicine, said: “The results of our study should encourage people with OCD to maintain a healthy lifestyle, such as quitting or not smoking, getting regular physical activity and managing a healthy weight to avoid stroke-related risk factors.

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“For decades, studies have found a relationship between stroke first and OCD later.

Source: Daily Express