Women with a healthy diet and lifestyle may be less likely
to have a stroke by more than half, according to a study published in the
October 8, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the
American Academy of Neurology.
The study looked at five
factors that make up a healthy lifestyle: healthy diet; moderate alcohol
consumption; never smoking; physically active; and healthy body mass index
(BMI). Compared with women with none of the five healthy factors, women with
all five factors had a 54-percent lower risk of stroke.
"Because the
consequences of stroke are usually devastating and irreversible, prevention is
of great importance," said study author Susanna C. Larsson, PhD, of the
Karolinska Instituet in Stockholm, Sweden. "These results are exciting
because they indicate that a healthy diet and lifestyle can substantially
reduce the risk of stroke, and these are lifestyle choices that people can make
or improve."
For the study, 31,696 Swedish
women with an average age of about 60 completed a 350-item questionnaire about
their diet and lifestyle. They were then followed for an average of 10 years. A
healthy diet was defined as within the top 50 percent of a recommended food
score measuring how often the participants ate healthy foods such as fruits,
vegetables and low-fat dairy products. Moderate alcohol consumption was defined
as three to nine drinks per week. Physically active was defined as walking or
biking at least 40 minutes a day along with more vigorous exercise at least one
hour per week. Healthy BMI was considered below 25.
Most of the women had two or
three of the healthy factors. Only 589 women had all five healthy factors, and
1,535 had none.
There were 1,554 strokes
among study participants. The risk of stroke steadily decreased with each
additional healthy lifestyle factor.
Women who had a healthier
diet were 13 percent less likely to have a type of stroke called a cerebral
infarction than those whose diet was not as healthy. Women with healthier diets
had a rate of 28 strokes per 10,000 women per year compared to 43 strokes per
10,000 women per year among those with a less healthy diet.
Cerebral infarction is the
most common cause of stroke, accounting for up to 80 to 85 percent of all
strokes. Cerebral infarction is caused by a blockage in a blood vessel
preventing blood and oxygen from getting to an area of the brain.
There was no relationship
between the healthy factors and the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. Hemorrhagic
stroke, which is caused by bleeding in and around the brain, accounts for about
15 to 20 percent of all strokes.
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