Stressful life events as triggers of ischemic stroke: a case-crossover study
Abstract
Acute stressors, such as stressful life events, might trigger ischemic stroke. Our objective was to investigate the association between life events exposure and ischemic stroke onset. Consecutive patients were interviewed about life events exposure (e.g. bereavement) using the Interview for Recent Life Events. Using a case-crossover approach, life events exposure within one month of stroke onset (hazard period) was compared with exposure during five control periods of one month preceding the hazard period. Similarly, life events exposure within one week of stroke onset was compared with exposure during three control periods of one week. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using conditional logistic regression. Two hundred forty-seven patients were interviewed within a median time of five days (interquartile range 3-7). Life events belonging to bereavement, health, and other categories accounted for half of life events. Over the six-month period, 187 patients were exposed to ≥1 life events. Patients were exposed to ≥1 life events more often during the first month preceding stroke onset than during the five control periods (odds ratio = 2·96; 95% confidence interval, 2·19-4·00). Over the four-week period, 97 ...Continue Reading
References
Citations
Prevalence of triggering factors in acute stroke: hospital-based observational cross-sectional study
Software Mentioned
Related Concepts
Related Feeds
Brain Ischemia
Brain ischemia is a condition in which there is insufficient blood flow to the brain to meet metabolic demand. Discover the latest research on brain ischemia here.