Healthy Lifestyle May Reduce Stroke Risk in Half for Women
October 8, 2014
MINNEAPOLIS
-- October 8, 2014 -- 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 online edition of the journal Neurology.
The study looked at 5 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 5 healthy factors, women with all 5 factors had a 54% lower risk of stroke.
“Because the consequences of stroke are usually devastating and irreversible, prevention is of great importance,” said Susanna C. Larsson, PhD, Karolinska Instituet, 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 years 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% 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 3 to 9 drinks per week. Physically active was defined as walking or biking at least 40 minutes a day along with more vigorous exercise at least 1 hour per week. Healthy BMI was considered below 25.
Most of the women had 2 or 3 of the healthy factors. Only 589 women had all 5 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% less likely to have 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 with 43 strokes per 10,000 women per year among those with a less healthy diet.
There was no relationship between the healthy factors and the risk of haemorrhagic stroke.
SOURCE: American Academy of Neurology
from http://dgnews.docguide.com/healthy-lifestyle-may-reduce-stroke-risk-half-women?overlay=2&nl_ref=newsletter&pk_campaign=newsletter
The study looked at 5 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 5 healthy factors, women with all 5 factors had a 54% lower risk of stroke.
“Because the consequences of stroke are usually devastating and irreversible, prevention is of great importance,” said Susanna C. Larsson, PhD, Karolinska Instituet, 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 years 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% 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 3 to 9 drinks per week. Physically active was defined as walking or biking at least 40 minutes a day along with more vigorous exercise at least 1 hour per week. Healthy BMI was considered below 25.
Most of the women had 2 or 3 of the healthy factors. Only 589 women had all 5 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% less likely to have 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 with 43 strokes per 10,000 women per year among those with a less healthy diet.
There was no relationship between the healthy factors and the risk of haemorrhagic stroke.
SOURCE: American Academy of Neurology
from http://dgnews.docguide.com/healthy-lifestyle-may-reduce-stroke-risk-half-women?overlay=2&nl_ref=newsletter&pk_campaign=newsletter
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