increased stroke risk Archives - Amazing Health Advances https://amazinghealthadvances.net/tag/increased-stroke-risk/ Your hub for fresh-picked health and wellness info Wed, 13 Nov 2024 04:49:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/AHA_Gradient_Bowl-150x150.jpg increased stroke risk Archives - Amazing Health Advances https://amazinghealthadvances.net/tag/increased-stroke-risk/ 32 32 Are Gender and Sexual Identity Linked to Brain Health? https://amazinghealthadvances.net/are-gender-and-sexual-identity-linked-to-brain-health-8345/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=are-gender-and-sexual-identity-linked-to-brain-health-8345 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/are-gender-and-sexual-identity-linked-to-brain-health-8345/#respond Wed, 06 Nov 2024 06:51:50 +0000 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/?p=16531 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) via Newswise – LGBTQ+ people may be more likely to have negative brain health outcomes, including a higher risk of dementia and late-life depression, than people who are straight, according to a recent study published in the online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. LGBTQ+ people may be more likely to have negative brain health outcomes, including a higher risk of dementia and late-life depression MINNEAPOLIS – LGBTQ+ people may be more likely to have negative brain health outcomes, including a higher risk of dementia and late-life depression, than people who are cisgender and straight, according to a study published in the September 25, 2024, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. These results do not prove that sexual or gender diversity causes neurological diseases, they only show an association. LGBTQ+ refers to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and nonbinary, plus other people who are sexually or gender diverse. Sexual diversity refers to individuals whose sexual orientation is different from straight, including lesbian, gay or bisexual people. Gender diversity refers to individuals whose gender identity does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth, which includes transgender and nonbinary people. Cisgender refers to individuals whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth. “In a world that increasingly recognizes the crucial role of equitable health care, it remains concerning how little is known about the health disparities faced by LGBTQ+ people,” said study author Shufan Huo, MD, PhD at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. “Our study looked at this group, which has been historically underrepresented in neurological research, and found that they had an increased risk of adverse brain health outcomes.” For the study, researchers evaluated data from 393,041 people with an average age of 51. Of the total group, 353,409 were cisgender and straight people, and 39,632 were LGBTQ+ people. Researchers evaluated electronic health records and self-reported data to identify a composite score of the following neurological conditions: dementia, late-life depression and stroke. They then evaluated each disease separately and looked at all subgroups of the LGBTQ+ participants. A total of 21,091 people had a neurological disease. Of those, 11,553 people had late-life depression, 6,605 people had strokes and 2,933 people had dementia. After adjusting for factors that could affect the risk of these three neurological conditions, such as age, smoking or high blood pressure, researchers found that LGBTQ+ people were 15% more likely to develop negative brain health outcomes in these conditions when compared to people who identified as cisgender and straight. Researchers also found that LGBTQ+ people had a higher risk of dementia and late-life depression, 14% and 27% respectively, than people who were cisgender and straight. “Our findings underscore the need for further research focusing on the health care disparities affecting the LGBTQ+ community,” Huo said. “Possible reasons for these disparities could include discrimination, stress, access to health care and policy and legal factors.” When looking at stroke, researchers found a higher risk only for transgender women, who were 68% more likely to have a stroke than cisgender people. A limitation of the study was that it did not look at the causes and mechanisms behind the inequities faced by LGBTQ+ people. For example, the study did not look at gender-affirming hormone therapy in transgender people, which could play a role in increased stroke risks in transgender women. The study was supported by the German Research Foundation. To read the original article click here.

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]]> https://amazinghealthadvances.net/are-gender-and-sexual-identity-linked-to-brain-health-8345/feed/ 0 Suboptimal Sleep Linked with Higher Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke https://amazinghealthadvances.net/suboptimal-sleep-linked-with-higher-risk-of-heart-disease-and-stroke-8090/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=suboptimal-sleep-linked-with-higher-risk-of-heart-disease-and-stroke-8090 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/suboptimal-sleep-linked-with-higher-risk-of-heart-disease-and-stroke-8090/#respond Mon, 29 Aug 2022 07:00:18 +0000 https://amazinghealthadvances.net/?p=15053 European Society of Cardiology via News-Medical – Nine in ten people do not get a good night’s sleep, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2022. The study found that suboptimal sleep was associated with a higher likelihood of heart disease and stroke. The authors estimated that seven in ten of these cardiovascular conditions could be prevented if everyone was a good sleeper. “The low prevalence of good sleepers was expected given our busy, 24/7 lives. The importance of sleep quality and quantity for heart health should be taught early in life when healthy behaviours become established. Minimising night-time noise and stress at work can both help improve sleep.” Dr. Aboubakari Nambiema, Study Author, INSERM (the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research), Paris, France Previous studies on sleep and heart disease have generally focused on one sleep habit, such as sleep duration or sleep apnoea, where breathing stops and starts while sleeping. In addition, prior studies have often assessed sleep at baseline only. The current study used a healthy sleep score combining five sleep habits. The researchers investigated the association between the baseline sleep score, and changes over time in the sleep score, and incident cardiovascular disease. This study included 7,200 participants of the Paris Prospective Study III (PPP3), an observational community‐based prospective cohort. Men and women aged 50 to 75 years and free of cardiovascular disease were recruited in a preventive medical centre between 2008 and 2011. The average age was 59.7 years and 62% were men. Participants underwent a physical examination and completed questionnaires on lifestyle, personal and family medical history, and medical conditions. Questionnaires were used to collect information on five sleep habits at baseline and two follow up visits. Each factor was given 1 point if optimal and 0 if not. A healthy sleep score ranging from 0 to 5 was calculated, with 0 or 1 considered poor and 5 considered optimal. Those with an optimal score reported sleeping 7 to 8 hours per night, never or rarely having insomnia, no frequent excessive daytime sleepiness, no sleep apnoea, and an early chronotype (being a morning person). The researchers checked for incident coronary heart disease and stroke every two years for a total of 10 years. At baseline, 10% of participants had an optimal sleep score and 8% had a poor score. During a median follow up of eight years, 274 participants developed coronary heart disease or stroke. The researchers analysed the association between sleep scores and cardiovascular events after adjusting for age, sex, alcohol consumption, occupation, smoking, body mass index, physical activity, cholesterol level, diabetes, and family history of heart attack, stroke or sudden cardiac death. They found that the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke decreased by 22% for every 1 point rise in the sleep score at baseline. More specifically, compared to those with a score of 0 or 1, participants with a score of 5 had a 75% lower risk of heart disease or stroke. The researchers estimated the proportion of cardiovascular events that could be prevented with healthier sleep. They found that if all participants had an optimal sleep score, 72% of new cases of coronary heart disease and stroke might be avoided each year. Over two follow ups, almost half of participants (48%) changed their sleep score: in 25% it decreased whereas in 23% it improved. When the researchers examined the association between the change in score and cardiovascular events, they found that a 1 point increment over time was associated with a 7% reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease or stroke. Dr. Nambiema said: “Our study illustrates the potential for sleeping well to preserve heart health and suggests that improving sleep is linked with lower risks of coronary heart disease and stroke. We also found that the vast majority of people have sleep difficulties. Given that cardiovascular disease is the top cause of death worldwide, greater awareness is needed on the importance of good sleep for maintaining a healthy heart.” To read the original article click here.

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