Can emotional neglect increase stroke risk?

Individuals subjected to emotional neglect in childhood could be at a greater risk of stroke in later life, according to a recent study.

Researchers from the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Centre at Rush University Medical Centre in the US found that the threat of a stroke was nearly three times higher in those that had moderately high levels of childhood emotional neglect than those that reported moderately low levels.

These results stayed the same after being adjusted to account for other risk factors, such as diabetes, physical activity, smoking, anxiety and heart problems.

Furthermore, autopsy results revealed that participants that rated themselves to be significantly emotionally neglected in their youth when alive also had brain infarctions.

The reasons behind this are currently unknown, but the findings have significant implications for managing the effects of neglect. They also shed light on the damage emotional abuse can have on life-long health.

However, researchers note the findings may be limited, as they are based on reports based on memory of incidents that occurred many years previously.

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