High stress, hostility, depression linked with increased stroke risk

This study expands our understanding of how stress links to poor health outcomes.

Higher levels of stress, hostility and depressive symptoms are associated with significantly increased risk of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) in middle-age and older adults, according to new research in the American Heart Association journalStroke.

A TIA is a stroke caused by a temporary blockage of blood flow to the brain.

Researchers investigated how psychological factors might influence risk for chronic disease, using data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), an ongoing study on cardiovascular disease risk factors in participants living in six U.S. cities.

More than 6,700 adults (ages 45-84; 53 percent women) completed questionnaires assessing chronic stress, depressive symptoms, anger and hostility over two years. Participants were 38.5 percent white, 27.8 percent African-American, 11.8 percent Chinese and 21.9 percent Hispanic. All were free of cardiovascular disease at the start of the study.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-07-high-stress-hostility-depression-linked.html