JAHA: Relationship between partner death and risk of ischemic stroke and cerebral hemorrhage

Stress can reportedly trigger stroke, and the death of a partner can be an extreme stress event.
, however, previous studies have produced conflicting results on whether bereavement is related to stroke risk, possibly due to a lack of distinction between ischemic stroke (IS) and cerebral hemorrhage (ICH).
, researchers used high-quality registered resources nationwide to explore the link between bereavement and IS and ICH, according to a recent study published in JAHA, an authoritative journal for cardiovascular disease.
the study included all Danes who died between 2002 and 2016 and matched a group of cohabiting people in terms of sex, age and calendar time by a ratio of 1:2.
researchers used Cox Proportional Risk Regression to estimate the adjusted risk ratio (aHRs) and corresponding 95% CI over a five-year follow-up period.
the study period, 278,758 people experienced partner deaths, of which 7,684 had IS in the following five years (1.11 per cent compared to the undecided; 95 per cent CI was 1.08-1.14), and 1,139 had ICH (aHR 1.13; 95 per cent CI was 1.04-1.23).
for ICH, the estimated association tends to strengthen within the first 30 days of partner's death (aHR is 1.66; 95% CI is 1.06-2.61), especially for women (aHR is 1.99; 95% CI is 1.06-3.75).
in absolute terms, the cumulative rate of PARTNER deaths was 0.73/1000 over 30 days, compared with 0.63/1000 in the control group, and 0.13/1000 and 0.08/1000 in the control group.
, it can be seen that the risk of IS and ICH is statistically significantly positively related to partner death, especially in the short term.
, however, the absolute risk difference is small.