Men with a constant headache have a significantly increased risk of stroke, according to the Archives of Internal Medicine for May 12.

These are the data of a random sample survey, which included approximately 35,000 Finns 25-64 years old - participants in the study of factors of cardiovascular risk. For the period from 1972 to 1987. inclusion in the study occurred four times. The presence of a headache was clarified during a survey. Also, risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, blood pressure and. Then Dr. Pekka Jousilahti and his colleagues (University of Helsinki) assessed the relationship between stroke and various risk factors.

It turned out that the headache worries women more often than men: 16. 7% against 8. 9%, respectively. In this connection, the association of stroke and headache in women was not statistically significant.

In contrast, in men, the headache was significantly associated with an increased risk of stroke. In particular, during a one-year follow-up, the risk of stroke increased fourfold (the standardized odds ratio of 4. 08). After 5 years, the odds ratio reached 1. 86, in 23 years - 1. 24. This association remained significant, and after an adjustment for other risk factors.

In some studies, the relationship between migraine and stroke risk has been established. This time, Finnish scientists demonstrated that chronic, nonspecific headache is an independent risk factor for stroke in men. Perhaps this is a kind of marker of the pathology, which eventually leads to a violation of the cerebral circulation. In women, the relationship between headache and stroke risk was not reliable, most likely because of the greater number of possible causes of headache in women.

medicus. en.