Migraine and susceptibility to blood clots can heighten the risk of stroke, finds study

Stroke prevention is a crucial area of preventative health measures. Because of the dangers of strokes, people must know if they are at risk and what they may be able to do to modify their risk. While younger individuals typically have a lower stroke risk, it is still important to note what risk factors affect younger populations, particularly as the consequences of a stroke can be lifelong. Traditional risk factors for stroke include high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and obesity while non-traditional include pregnancy and postpartum period, use of oral contraceptives, migraine, and thrombophilia, which increases the risk of blood clots.

The case-control study identified index stroke events in young adults (aged 18–55 years), matched 1:3 to stroke-free controls, by sex, age, and pre-stroke period. All traditional and nontraditional risk factors were identified from enrolment until a stroke or proxy-stroke date (defined as the pre-stroke period). Conditional logistic regression models stratified by sex and age group first assessed the association of stroke with counts of risk factors.

The results showed that each traditional and nontraditional risk factors were associated with an increased risk of stroke in all sex and age groups. In adults aged 18 to 34 years, more strokes were associated with nontraditional than traditional risk factors. The contribution of nontraditional risk factors declined with age. Hypertension was the most important traditional risk factor and increased in contribution with age. Migraine was the most important nontraditional risk factor and decreased in contribution with age.

The findings revealed that non-traditional risk factors were as important as traditional risk factors in the development of strokes for both young men and women and have a stronger association with the development of strokes in adults younger than 35 years of age.

Reference: Michelle H. Leppert, Sharon N. Poisson, Sharon Scarbro, Krithika Suresh, Lynda D. Lisabeth, Jukka Putaala, Lee H. Schwamm, Stacie L. Daugherty, Cathy J. Bradley, James F. Burke and P. Michael Ho; Association of Traditional and Nontraditional Risk Factors in the Development of Strokes Among Young Adults by Sex and Age Group: A Retrospective Case-Control Study; Journal: Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes; https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.123.010307