Parental divorce's long shadow: Elevated stroke risk among older Americans

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Gerontology

Background:

• Adverse childhood experiences are linked to chronic health issues, but the specific impact of parental divorce on stroke risk, excluding other abuse, is less understood.
• Parental divorce is a significant childhood adversity with potential long-term psychological and physiological consequences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between childhood parental divorce and stroke in older adults without a history of child abuse.
• To examine if the association between parental divorce and stroke differs between men and women.

Main Methods:

• Utilized population-based data from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).
• Analyzed a sample of 13,205 adults aged 65 and above, excluding those with childhood physical or sexual abuse.
• Employed binary logistic regression to assess the relationship between parental divorce and physician-diagnosed stroke.

Main Results:

• Individuals experiencing parental divorce had 1.61 times higher odds of reporting a stroke compared to those without parental divorce (AOR = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.15-2.24).
• The association between parental divorce and stroke was not significantly dependent on sex.
• Males had 1.47 times higher odds of stroke than females, independent of parental divorce status (AOR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.11-1.93).

Conclusions:

• Childhood parental divorce is associated with an increased risk of stroke in older adulthood among individuals without childhood abuse.
• Findings suggest parental divorce may be a relevant factor in the long-term cardiovascular health trajectory.
• Potential moderating variables such as childhood poverty, sleep hygiene, and hypertension warrant further investigation.