As the population gets older, more and more adults may need to play the role of caregiver for their parents or spouses. In a new study published online in the journal Stroke, spouses who are under significant stress serving as a caregiver for an ailing partner may have an increased risk for stroke.

Researchers from the University of South Florida and the University of Birmingham in Alabama studied participants in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study who were acting as in-home caregiver to a disabled spouse. Each caregiver reported on caregiving strain, symptoms of depression, social network, education, and age. The researchers then used the Framingham Stroke and Coronary Heart Disease Risk Scores to estimate stroke and heart disease risk. They found that high caregiving strain was associated with a 23 percent higher risk of stroke. This association was stronger in men, especially African American men, who had a 26.95 percent estimated 10-year stroke risk.

Stress has been widely studied as a risk factor for stroke and coronary heart disease. Specifically, being a caregiver for a disabled spouse has been linked to an increased risk for heart disease and death. Now, this new study suggests that the strain of being a caregiver also increases the risk for stroke, particularly among African American men. What this means is that men who play the role of caregiver may need special caregiving support.

Source:

Stroke, published online before print 14 January 2010. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.109.568279.