Desperation makes women more susceptible to stroke

　　Questionnaire

　　Dr. Susan Everson-Rose of the University of Minnesota Medical School and colleagues studied the relationship between despair and female Is there any relationship between stroke and heart disease? They selected 559 middle-aged women with an average age of 50 for investigation. healthy , no heart disease such as high blood pressure clinical symptom.

　　The researchers asked the women to answer a questionnaire about their future and personal goals, and then rated them on the scale, with higher scores indicating greater despair.

　　Finally, the researchers used ultrasound to measure the women's carotid artery intima-media thickness.

　　It was found that despair increases carotid intima-media thickness, and the greater the despair, the greater the effect.

　　The difference is obvious

　　The results of this study were published in the American Heart Association journal "Stroke" on the 27th.

　　Everson-Rose said that day: “We found that women who felt hopeless about their future or personal goals had increased carotid intima-media thickness and relatively severe atherosclerosis, which is a precursor to stroke and subsequent development of heart disease. ”

　　The impact of despair on carotid artery health is clear, she said. The carotid intima-media thickness of women with severe despair was 0.02 mm thicker than that of women with mild despair, which is equivalent to the natural thickening of carotid intima-media thickness with one year of age. The carotid intima-media thickness of those with the most severe despair was 0.06 mm thicker than that of those with the least despair, which is a clinically significant difference.

　　Stroke risk

　　“"These findings suggest that desperate women may be at greater risk for stroke and future heart disease," said Everson-Rose. "This is the first study to show that despair may be associated with subclinical heart disease in women who are otherwise healthy and have no clinical symptoms of heart disease." ”

　　"We don't see a similar link with depression," Everson-Rose said. ”The team's next step will be to explain why chronically desperate women develop these physiological changes.

　　Everson-Rose cautions that women should be aware that feelings of hopelessness can affect their physical health. disease symptoms, you should seek help. ”