Following extensive adjusting for other factors that could affect the risk of stroke such as smoking, physical activity, depression, and alcohol consumption, the results remained similar.
Dr Christine McCarthy, Stroke and Geriatric Medicine Physician, PhD researcher with the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at University of Galway and lead author said: “Not only do our results suggest that individual sleep problems may increase a person’s risk of stroke but having more than five of these symptoms may lead to five times the risk of stroke compared to those who do not have any sleep problems.
“Our results suggest that sleep problems should be an area of focus for stroke prevention.”
Professor Martin O’Donnell, Professor of Neurovascular Medicine at University of Galway and Consultant Stroke Physician at Galway University Hospitals, co-led the international INTERSTROKE study with Prof Salim Yusuf, McMaster University, Canada. He said: “Globally, one in four people over age 25 will have a stroke in their lifetime.
