Unhealthy lifestyle increases risk of stroke

People who lead unhealthy lifestyles are more than twice as likely to suffer a stroke as those who live healthy, research claims.

A report published on bmj.com today looked at over 20,000 men and women aged between 40 and 79.

Researchers scored the participants for each of four healthy behaviours: current non-smoking, physically not inactive, moderate alcohol intake (one-14 units per week) and blood vitamin C levels of 50 µmol/l or more, indicating fruit and vegetable intake of at least five servings a day.

The participants were then followed for an average of 11-and-a-half years, while strokes were recorded using death certificates and hospital discharge data.

The risk of stroke increased in linear fashion with every point decrease in health behaviour score, the authors claim.

Dr Matthew Giles from the stroke prevention research unit at John Radcliffe hospital Oxford claims in an accompanying editorial that individuals should be informed that lifestyle predicts the risk of stroke.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of illness and death in the UK, with an estimated annual cost of subsequent carrying around £7 billion.