Parents’ Divorce Triples Men’s Risk Of Strokes

Stroke is the second leading cause of death. And if you’re a man whose parents divorced before you turned 18, your stroke risk triples.

Researchers in Toronto concluded that men whose parents had divorced when they were young are much more likely to suffer a stroke than those with parents who stayed married.

Lead author Esme Fuller-Thomson of the University of Toronto said the results were “perplexing.” She noted that even after adjusting for most of the known risk factors for stroke, “parental divorce was still associated with a threefold risk of stroke among males.”

She offered an explanation: “It is possible that exposure to the stress of parental divorce may have biological implications that change the way these boys react to stress for the rest of their lives.”