The researchers were “surprised” to find that this risk factor played a very important role in the development of strokes in young adults, especially in women.
In France, a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) occurs every 4 minutes. If the average age of onset is 72 years, stroke can occur at any age, including young people. In 25 years, the number of strokes among 20-55 year olds has doubled, particularly among those under 35. These accidents are usually caused by high blood pressure and other risk factors such as high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, alcohol abuse or coronary heart disease. But for the first time, researchers wanted to know which risk factor contributed most to the risk of stroke in young adults and their discovery is unexpected.
Responsible for 43% of strokes in young women
In their study published in March 2024 in the journal Traffic of the American Heart Association, researchers followed 2,600 people who had a stroke between 2012 and 2019 and more than 7,800 who did not. The volunteers were aged 18 to 55 and 52% were women. The majority of strokes (73%) were ischemic, occurring when a blood vessel leading to the brain is blocked by a clot. At the end of their analysis, in people under 35:
►43% of strokes occurring in women and 31% in men were caused by non-traditional risk factors. At the top of the list of these factors : migraines. They represented nearly 35% of strokes in women and 20% in men but its contribution to stroke risk decreased with age.
► 33% of strokes in women and 25% in men were linked to traditional risk factors, of which high blood pressure was the most important.
Pain on one side of the head
“The researchers were surprised to find that non-traditional risk factors, especially migraines, played an equally important role in the development of stroke in young adults. These results are important because most of our attention has focused on traditional risk factorscommented lead author Dr. Michelle Leppert, assistant professor of neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, in A press release. Many studies have demonstrated the association between migraines and stroke, but to our knowledge, this study may be the first to demonstrate how much stroke risk may be attributable to migraines.” As a reminder, migraine corresponds to intense pain which generally affects only one side of the head and which occurs in the form of crises. It is sometimes accompanied by nausea or an intolerance to noise or light.
Results should be taken with caution and require additional studies. They present several limits, including their reliance on an administrative database, which could impact how risk factors were scored, and the lack of data on the race and ethnicity of many participants . Also, the research was conducted in metropolitan areas located a mile or more above sea level, so altitude can create unique conditions that are not applicable to people living at other altitudes.