Highly stressed, “type A” personalities are more likely to suffer a stroke than their more easy-going peers, according to new research out of Spain.
The findings, published in the Journal of Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, indicate people who are tightly strung and experience chronic stress – including physical and/or mental symptoms in response to stressors lasting longer than 6 months – are far more prone to the risk of stroke.
For the study, researchers from the Hospital Clinico Universitario San Carlos in Madrid compared 150 stroke patients, with an average age of 54, to 300 randomly selected healthy people of similar age who lived in the same neighborhood.
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Investigators assessed the two groups’ overall levels of chronic stress – tied to major life events, symptoms such as anxiety and depression, general well-being, and behavior patterns indicative of “type A” personality (such as hostility, aggression, impatience and a quick temper).
Participants were also assessed for key risk factors for stroke, including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart rhythm abnormalities, and daytime sleepiness. Researchers also quizzed them on lifestyle patterns, job and marital status, and their use of caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, and energy drinks.
Compared with healthy individuals, those who had had a stroke were almost four times as likely to have experienced a major life stressor in the previous year and twice as likely to have “type A” personality traits. Stroke patients also had a higher rate of smoking, reported consumption of more energy drinks, had more heart rhythm disturbances, and high daytime sleepiness scores.
Researchers also found men were nine times as likely to be at risk than women in the study.
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