Psychological distress causes stroke

Washington, Mar 4: Psychological distress, but not depression, may increase the risk of stroke, a recent study suggests. ''Stroke is among the leading causes of long-term disability and death worldwide,'' said author Paul Surtees, from the University of Cambridge.

The study conducted on 20,627 people, showed 595 participants suffered a stroke and 28 per cent of these strokes were fatal. Researchers found that psychological distress was the reason for an increased risk of stroke and escalates even more with increased stress level. The condition remained the same regardless of cigarette smoking, blood pressure, obesity, heart attack, diabetes and recent anti-depressant medication use. The study published in the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that the risk of stroke was not increased for those who had experienced major depression in the past year or at any point in their lifetime.

UNI