Anxiety Tied to Stroke Risk in Study
Anxiety Tied to Stroke Risk in Study
But direct link not proven
THURSDAY, Dec. 19, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Could anxiety boost the risk for stroke? A new long-term study suggests just that -- the greater the anxiety, the greater the risk for stroke.
Study participants who suffered the most anxiety had a 33 percent higher risk for stroke compared to those with the lowest anxiety levels, the researchers found.
This is thought to be one of the first studies to show an association between anxiety and stroke. But not everyone is convinced the connection is real.
"I am a little skeptical about the results," said Dr. Aviva Lubin, associate stroke director at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, who had no part in the study.
The researchers pointed out that anxiety can be related to smoking and increased pulse and blood pressure, which are known risk factors for stroke. However, Lubin still has her doubts.
"It still seems a little hard to fully buy into the fact that anxiety itself is a major risk factor that we need to deal with," she said.
Lubin said that treating risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes are the keys to preventing stroke. "I doubt that treating anxiety itself is going to decrease the risk of stroke," she said.
The report was published Dec. 19 in the online edition of the journal Stroke.
The study was led by Maya Lambiase, a cardiovascular behavioral medicine researcher in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Her team collected data on more than 6,000 people aged 25 to 74 when they enrolled in the first U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, started in the early 1970s.
These people were interviewed and had medical tests and completed questionnaires to assess their levels of anxiety and depression.
Over the following 22 years, the researchers used hospital or nursing home records and death certificates to keep track of strokes among the participants.
The investigators found that even after taking into account other factors, even modest increases in anxiety were associated with greater odds of having a stroke.
Anxiety Tied to Stroke Risk in Study
But direct link not proven
THURSDAY, Dec. 19, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Could anxiety boost the risk for stroke? A new long-term study suggests just that -- the greater the anxiety, the greater the risk for stroke.
Study participants who suffered the most anxiety had a 33 percent higher risk for stroke compared to those with the lowest anxiety levels, the researchers found.
This is thought to be one of the first studies to show an association between anxiety and stroke. But not everyone is convinced the connection is real.
"I am a little skeptical about the results," said Dr. Aviva Lubin, associate stroke director at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, who had no part in the study.
The researchers pointed out that anxiety can be related to smoking and increased pulse and blood pressure, which are known risk factors for stroke. However, Lubin still has her doubts.
"It still seems a little hard to fully buy into the fact that anxiety itself is a major risk factor that we need to deal with," she said.
Lubin said that treating risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes are the keys to preventing stroke. "I doubt that treating anxiety itself is going to decrease the risk of stroke," she said.
The report was published Dec. 19 in the online edition of the journal Stroke.
The study was led by Maya Lambiase, a cardiovascular behavioral medicine researcher in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Her team collected data on more than 6,000 people aged 25 to 74 when they enrolled in the first U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, started in the early 1970s.
These people were interviewed and had medical tests and completed questionnaires to assess their levels of anxiety and depression.
Over the following 22 years, the researchers used hospital or nursing home records and death certificates to keep track of strokes among the participants.
The investigators found that even after taking into account other factors, even modest increases in anxiety were associated with greater odds of having a stroke.
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