Could Children Of Divorce Face A Higher Stroke Risk?

When married parents are struggling to keep their marriage together, and they’re just not happy anymore, they may consider divorce. However, divorce is not something to be taken lightly.

Children of divorce tend to suffer a lot psychologically. They are often torn between two homes, with no sense of routine or normalcy. They may be confused and stressed out a lot due to the lack of routine. This can lead to poor grades, poor self-esteem, substance abuse, and other negative effects.

Studies are now showing that children of divorce could face a higher risk of stroke later on in life. An observational study consisting of 13,205 people over the age of 65 whose parents divorced before they turned 18 showed that they had a 60% increased chance of experiencing a stroke. Scientists accounted for diabetes, depression, and social isolation, which are known to increase a person’s chance of stroke, and this elevated risk persisted.

Adverse childhood experiences such as sexual and physical abuse have been tied to high stroke risk in the past. Researchers wanted to determine if divorce impacted stroke risk in those who were not abused as a child. The study showed that the link between parental divorce and stroke was so strong and even comparable to well-established risk factors for stroke such as being male and having diabetes.

However, keep in mind that the study was observational, so it can only establish a correlation between childhood experience of divorce and stroke. It cannot prove that divorce does in fact cause a stroke later in life. Also, the study was missing many details, such as type of stroke, age at divorce, blood pressure, and cholesterol, which could influence the results. It also didn’t look at younger adults. Still, the authors of the study note that parental divorce is linked to higher risk of developing stroke factors, such as diabetes, depression, substance abuse, smoking cigarettes, and obesity.

Stroke is a major issue in the United States. Approximately 795,000 people experience a stroke every year, and about 20% die from the event. Those who survive a stroke can experience serious effects such as cognitive impairment. Therefore, it is important to treat stroke as quickly as possible to reduce brain damage.

In any case, stroke is a cardiovascular issue. Adults can reduce their risk and improve their heart health by exercising regularly, limiting alcohol, avoiding smoking, losing weight, and eating a healthy diet.

Seek Help for Your Divorce Case

Increased stroke risk in children can be a frightening thing for parents, but this doesn’t mean you should delay your divorce case. If you are unhappy in your marriage, there’s no use in worsening your health and pretending to be happy when you’re really not.

The Dade City & Zephyrhills timesharing & parenting attorneys from Madonna Law will help you divorce with less stress. We can develop practical, enforceable plans with the needs of the parent and the children in mind. Schedule a consultation today by calling our office at (800) 557-0411 or filling out the online form.

Source:

forbes.com/sites/katherinehignett/2025/01/24/extremely-concerning-stroke-risk-for-children-of-divorced-parents/