Women under 35 44% more likely than men to suffer stroke caused by this

By Georgia Lambert via SWNS

Women aged 35 and younger are 44 percent more likely than men to suffer a stroke caused by a blocked blood vessel, reveals new research.

Researchers studied more than a dozen international studies on the gender differences in strokes, to arrive at their conclusion.

The newest study appears in American Stroke Association's journal, Stroke.

Editor-in-chief Dr. Ralph Sacco said: “Stroke affects more women each year than men. We want all stroke professionals to know about the latest research on the recognition, prevention, and treatment of strokes among women.”

Dr. Sacco, who is also the chair of the department of neurology at the University of Miami, added: "We have compiled some outstanding articles to inform our readers about multiple important clinical and translational science issues addressing gaps in our knowledge of stroke among women."

To understand how disproportionate the gender gap is, researchers from the American Heart Association compared how many times a stroke occurred among women and men in various young adult age groups.

They then reviewed previous studies from January 2008 to research published more recently in 2021 and compiled them on an online database.

The team included population-based studies and focused on young adults aged 45 years and younger.

These types of studies included data collected from different types of strokes, including ischaemic (clotting) strokes, hemorrhagic strokes that occur when a weakened blood vessel ruptures, transient ischaemic attacks (TIA) - which are also known as mini-strokes caused by a serious but temporary clot, and cryptogenic strokes for which no known cause is found.

Among all the strokes mentioned in the report, the one most mentioned was ischaemic strokes, which account for a staggering 87 percent of all strokes.

The researchers then identified 16 studies from a combined total of 69,793 young adults who had suffered from a stroke.

In that cohort, the data was collected from 33,775 women and 36,018 men, who were from more than six countries including the US, Canada, France, and The Netherlands.

By analyzing the data, the authors were able to identify the gender differences in the incidence of ischaemic strokes in adults younger than 35 years of age.

They found that an estimated 44 percent more women than men in this age group experienced ischaemic strokes.

Interestingly the sex difference narrowed among the adults aged 35 to 45 and as people got older, the disparities were a lot harder to spot, due to the way the data was presented among the studies in the systemic review.

The researchers were also not able to identify specific causes behind the higher prevalence of strokes in young women compared to young men.

Based on their analysis, the researchers said: “Traditional atherosclerotic risk factors are a major contributor to ischaemic strokes in both young men and women and become increasingly important with age.

"However, these risk factors are less prevalent in younger women and may not account for the observed higher incidence of ischaemic strokes in women younger than age 35.

"Young women who are survivors of ischaemic stroke also have worse outcomes, with two to three times higher risk of poorer functional outcomes compared to their male counterparts.”

The researchers said more research would be needed to better understand the gender gap in young, ischaemic stroke patients, while also focusing on how "non-traditional" risk factors like pregnancy, postpartum, and hormonal contraceptives, could play a part in the burden of ischaemic strokes in young women.

Also found inside Stroke's spotlight issue is a commentary review, which the authors used to summarise their knowledge of strokes in women.

They have found recent evidence suggesting that women who experience pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia and premature deliveries, may be at increased risk of stroke for "many years after childbirth."

They also found that the representation and reporting of women who are included in clinical trials of acute stroke continue to be suboptimal.

Co-author, Sharon Poisson, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Colorado, said: "Our finding suggests that strokes in young adults may be happening for different reasons than strokes in older adults.

"This emphasizes the importance of doing more studies of strokes in younger age groups so that we can better understand what puts young women at a higher risk of stroke."

Professor Poisson added: “Better understanding which young adults are at risk for stroke can help us to do a better job of preventing and treating strokes in young people.”