BACKGROUND: Healthy lifestyle has been associated with decreased risk of coronary heart disease. In contrast, little is known about its association with stroke risk. METHODS: This is a prospective cohort study among 37 636 women 45 years or older participating in the Women's Health Study. Stroke was self-reported and confirmed by means of medical record review. We considered the following self-reported lifestyle factors: smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, body mass index, and diet. The health index was calculated from these variables by assigning scores from 0 to 4 to the respective variable categories, with a higher score indicating healthier behavior. Healthy behavior was defined as never smoking, alcohol consumption between 4 and 10.5 drinks per week, exercise 4 or more times per week, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) less than 22, and a diet high in cereal fiber, folate, and omega-3 fatty acids, with a high ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fat, and low in trans fat and glycemic load. RESULTS: During 10 years of follow-up, 450 strokes (356 ischemic, 90 hemorrhagic, and 4 undefined) were confirmed. Compared with participants with 0 to 4 health index points (4.3%), women with 17 to 20 health index points (4.7%) had multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of 0.45 (0.24-0.83; P<.001 for trend) for total stroke, 0.29 (0.14-0.63; P<.001 for trend) for ischemic stroke, and 1.27 (0.37-4.29; P = .62 for trend) for hemorrhagic stroke. CONCLUSIONS: In this large prospective cohort of apparently healthy women, a healthy lifestyle consisting of abstinence from smoking, low body mass index, moderate alcohol consumption, regular exercise, and healthy diet was associated with a significantly reduced risk of total and ischemic stroke but not of hemorrhagic stroke. Our findings underscore the importance of healthy behaviors in the prevention of stroke.
BACKGROUND: Healthy lifestyle has been associated with decreased risk of coronary heart disease. In contrast, little is known about its association with stroke risk. METHODS: This is a prospective cohort study among 37 636 women 45 years or older participating in the Women's Health Study. Stroke was self-reported and confirmed by means of medical record review. We considered the following self-reported lifestyle factors: smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, body mass index, and diet. The health index was calculated from these variables by assigning scores from 0 to 4 to the respective variable categories, with a higher score indicating healthier behavior. Healthy behavior was defined as never smoking, alcohol consumption between 4 and 10.5 drinks per week, exercise 4 or more times per week, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) less than 22, and a diet high in cereal fiber, folate, and omega-3 fatty acids, with a high ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fat, and low in trans fat and glycemic load. RESULTS: During 10 years of follow-up, 450 strokes (356 ischemic, 90 hemorrhagic, and 4 undefined) were confirmed. Compared with participants with 0 to 4 health index points (4.3%), women with 17 to 20 health index points (4.7%) had multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of 0.45 (0.24-0.83; P<.001 for trend) for total stroke, 0.29 (0.14-0.63; P<.001 for trend) for ischemic stroke, and 1.27 (0.37-4.29; P = .62 for trend) for hemorrhagic stroke. CONCLUSIONS: In this large prospective cohort of apparently healthy women, a healthy lifestyle consisting of abstinence from smoking, low body mass index, moderate alcohol consumption, regular exercise, and healthy diet was associated with a significantly reduced risk of total and ischemic stroke but not of hemorrhagic stroke. Our findings underscore the importance of healthy behaviors in the prevention of stroke.
Authors: L Mahecha; J Angulo; B Salazar; M Cerón; J Gallo; C H Molina; E J Molina; J F Suárez; J J Lopera; M Olivera Journal: Trop Anim Health Prod Date: 2008-04 Impact factor: 1.559
Authors: Jonathan A Mitchell; Daniel B Bornstein; Xuemei Sui; Steven P Hooker; Timothy S Church; Chong D Lee; Duck-Chul Lee; Steven N Blair Journal: Am Heart J Date: 2010-07 Impact factor: 4.749
Authors: Xiang Gao; Honglei Chen; Teresa T Fung; Giancarlo Logroscino; Michael A Schwarzschild; Frank B Hu; Alberto Ascherio Journal: Am J Clin Nutr Date: 2007-11 Impact factor: 7.045
Authors: Stephanie E Chiuve; Kathryn M Rexrode; Donna Spiegelman; Giancarlo Logroscino; JoAnn E Manson; Eric B Rimm Journal: Circulation Date: 2008-08-12 Impact factor: 29.690