Women who walk for two or more hours a week have a lower risk of stroke than those who dont.
Women who walk for two or more hours a week have a lower risk of stroke than those who don't.
Stroke is one of the leading cause of death and adult disability. Some of the identified risk factors for stroke among women are smoking, migraine with aura, use of postmenopausal hormone and oral contraceptive use. An easily modifiable risk factor is physical activity, but studies assessing the relation between physical activity and stroke risk have shown inconsistent results. The present study was conducted to examine the association of physical activity with stroke risk in a large group of women, addressing details of the physical activity required and the association for specific stroke subtypes.
Researchers in the US studied 39,315 healthy American women aged 45 years or older who were followed up for nearly 12 years. Physical activity was assessed by asking the participants to estimate the duration of activity (which ranged from nil to more than 7 hours a week) and the type of recreational activity they participated in. The participants reported about these at the start of the study and periodically during the study.
During an average follow-up of nearly 12 years, 579 women suffered a stroke. There were 473 ischemic strokes - the most common type caused by a blockage or blood clot supplying blood to the brain - and 102 hemorrhagic or bleeding strokes. Four strokes were of an undetermined type. The findings revealed an inverse association between total leisure time physical activity and risks of total and ischemic stroke but there was no association between vigorous-intensity activity and stroke risk. However, there was significant relationship of both time spent walking and usual walking pace with risks of total and hemorrhagic strokes.
Women who walked at a pace of 3 miles per hour or faster had a 37 percent lower risk of suffering from any type of stroke compared to those who walked at a slower pace. The most active women in the study were found to be 17 percent less apt to suffer a stroke during follow up than the least active women. Compared with women who didn't walk, women who walked two or more hours a week at any pace cut their risk of any type of stroke by 30 percent. Even moderate-intensity activity such as brisk walking was beneficial to the reduction of risk of strokes.
The above findings indicate that leisure-time physical activity, in particular, walking, is associated with a lower risk of stroke in women.
Stroke is one of the leading cause of death and adult disability. Some of the identified risk factors for stroke among women are smoking, migraine with aura, use of postmenopausal hormone and oral contraceptive use. An easily modifiable risk factor is physical activity, but studies assessing the relation between physical activity and stroke risk have shown inconsistent results. The present study was conducted to examine the association of physical activity with stroke risk in a large group of women, addressing details of the physical activity required and the association for specific stroke subtypes.
Researchers in the US studied 39,315 healthy American women aged 45 years or older who were followed up for nearly 12 years. Physical activity was assessed by asking the participants to estimate the duration of activity (which ranged from nil to more than 7 hours a week) and the type of recreational activity they participated in. The participants reported about these at the start of the study and periodically during the study.
During an average follow-up of nearly 12 years, 579 women suffered a stroke. There were 473 ischemic strokes - the most common type caused by a blockage or blood clot supplying blood to the brain - and 102 hemorrhagic or bleeding strokes. Four strokes were of an undetermined type. The findings revealed an inverse association between total leisure time physical activity and risks of total and ischemic stroke but there was no association between vigorous-intensity activity and stroke risk. However, there was significant relationship of both time spent walking and usual walking pace with risks of total and hemorrhagic strokes.
Women who walked at a pace of 3 miles per hour or faster had a 37 percent lower risk of suffering from any type of stroke compared to those who walked at a slower pace. The most active women in the study were found to be 17 percent less apt to suffer a stroke during follow up than the least active women. Compared with women who didn't walk, women who walked two or more hours a week at any pace cut their risk of any type of stroke by 30 percent. Even moderate-intensity activity such as brisk walking was beneficial to the reduction of risk of strokes.
The above findings indicate that leisure-time physical activity, in particular, walking, is associated with a lower risk of stroke in women.
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