Children of divorce are 61% more likely to suffer a stroke later in life, research suggests. Experts analysed data from 13,000 Americans aged over 65, 14% of whom had experienced parental divorce during their childhood.
One in nine people whose parents had divorced were later diagnosed with a stroke, compared to one in 15 of those whose parents remained married.
Mary Kate Schilke, a lecturer in psychology at Canada’s Tyndale University, said: “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.”
The researchers excluded people who had a history of childhood abuse but found the effect remained even when people felt safe at home.
It was not clear why divorce may increase stroke risk but one theory is that the impact of stress has a lasting effect.
Professor Esme Fuller-Thomson, of the University of Toronto, said: “From a biological embedding perspective, having your parents split up during childhood could lead to sustained high levels of stress hormones.
“Experiencing this as a child could have lasting influences on the developing brain and a child’s ability to respond to stress.”
The suggested impact of divorce on stroke risk was similar in magnitude to the effect of having type 2 diabetes or depression.
Prof Fuller-Thomson added: “We need to shed light on the mechanisms that may contribute to this association.
“While these types of survey-based studies cannot establish causality, we are hoping that our consistent findings will inspire others to examine the topic.”
Ms Schilke added: “If future research finds similar links between parental divorce and stroke, it is possible that knowledge about whether or not their patient grew up in an intact family will be used by health professionals to improve targeted outreach for stroke prevention and education.”
The study, which also involved researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington, was published in the online journal PLOS One.
