Inflammatory bowel disease linked to increased risk of stroke

People with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are more likely to have a stroke than people without the disease, according to a study published in the online issue of Neurology. The study does not prove that IBD causes stroke; it only shows an association.

The study found that people with IBD were 13% more likely to have a stroke up to 25 years after their diagnosis than people without IBD.

The study involved 85,006 people with IBD confirmed with a biopsy. They were each matched with up to five people of the same birth year, sex and county of residence who did not have IBD, for a total of 406,987 people.

During an average follow-up of 12 years, 3,720 of the people with IBD had a stroke, compared with 15,599 of the people who did not have IBD, which is a rate of 32.6 per 10,000 person years for those with IBD compared to 27.7 for those without IBD. Person-years represent 

When researchers accounted for other factors that could affect stroke risk, such as heart disease, high blood pressure and obesity, they found that people with IBD were 13% more likely to have a stroke than those without IBD. Researchers found that the increased risk was mainly due to ischemic stroke, which is caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain, rather than hemorrhagic stroke, a stroke caused by bleeding in the brain.

Reference: Jiangwei Sun et al ,AMERICAN  ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY,JOURNAL Neurology