A recent study published in PLOS One reveals a significant correlation between parental divorce and an elevated risk of stroke in later life. Researchers analyzed data from 13,205 participants aged 65 and older, drawn from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a comprehensive health data collection project managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The findings indicate that individuals whose parents divorced before they reached the age of 18 exhibited a 61% higher likelihood of experiencing a stroke compared to their counterparts from intact families. This increased risk persisted even after adjusting for established stroke risk factors, such as depression and diabetes.
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Study author Mary Kate Schilke emphasized the robustness of the association, stating, “Our study indicates that even after taking into account most of the known risk factors associated with stroke — including smoking, physical inactivity, lower income and education, diabetes, depression, and low social support — those whose parents had divorced still had 61% higher odds of having a stroke.”
Furthermore, lead author Esme Fuller-Thomson clarified that the study deliberately excluded participants with histories of sexual or physical abuse to isolate the specific impact of parental divorce on stroke risk, avoiding potential confounding factors. “Our research wanted to clarify the association between parental divorce and stroke by avoiding any potential confounding with childhood abuse,” she explained.
While the precise mechanisms underlying this connection remain unclear, experts suggest a complex interplay of biological and social factors may contribute to the heightened stroke risk. Fuller-Thomson proposed a biological embedding perspective, suggesting that the sustained high levels of stress hormones associated with parental separation during childhood could have enduring effects on brain development and stress response mechanisms.
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Looking ahead, Schilke highlighted the potential implications of these findings for preventative healthcare. “If future research finds similar links between parental divorce and stroke, it is possible that knowledge about whether or not their patient grew up in an intact family will be used by health professionals improve targeted outreach for stroke prevention and education,” she added. This suggests that incorporating family history information, specifically regarding parental divorce, into patient assessments could enhance stroke risk prediction and facilitate more effective preventative interventions. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and explore the underlying causal pathways.
