Stroke risk higher in less well-educated women
NEW YORK, Jan 16 (Reuters) A study involving Swedish women indicates that the risk of stroke has a marked inverse correlation with years of education, European researchers report in the journal Stroke.
''This study,'' lead investigator Dr Hannah Kuper told Reuters Health, ''shows a dramatically higher incidence of stroke in the least educated women compared to the risk among the most educated.'' ''Most of the gradient,'' she added, ''can be attributed to differences in health behaviors such as smoking and alcohol consumption.'' Kuper of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and colleagues analyzed data from almost 48,000 women aged 30 to 50 years at the outset who were followed for about ten years.
Educational level was used as a proxy for socioeconomic status.
The women completed an extensive questionnaire and were traced through linkages to national registries. During this period, there were 200 cases of stroke.
The risk of stroke was significantly inversely related to years of education completed. The hazard ratio was 2-fold higher for the least educated compared to the most educated women.
This association was reduced after adjustment for established risk factors, although it remained significant. Psychosocial factors did not contribute to the difference in stroke risk.
''This
finding
is
encouraging,''
continued
Kuper,
''as
it
suggests
that
through
health
promotion
and
the
uptake
of
a
healthier
lifestyle,
the
risk
of
stroke
among
the
least
educated
women
could
fall
to
that
approaching
the
risk
in
the
most
educated
group.''
The
author
of
an
accompanying
editorial,
Dr
Tobias
Kurth
of
Harvard
Medical
School,
Boston
told
Reuters
Health
''traditional
stroke
risk
factors
explained
a
substantial
amount
of
the
increased
risk.''
Nevertheless,
he
concluded,
''policymakers
must
be
made
aware
of
how
socioeconomic
status
influences
stroke
and
other
disease
risk
and
use
this
information
to
target
these
easily
identifiable
groups.''
REUTERS
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