Stress-related and sleep disorders linked to higher stroke risk
Adults with both kinds of disorders had a stroke hazard ratio—a measure of relative risk—of 1.33 compared with those with neither.
Our read
Populations- Studied:
- Cohort study of 373,417 adults without prior stroke, against adults with neither disorder type
- What changed:
- Stroke risk was higher in adults with both stress-related and sleep disorders than those with neither (hazard ratio 1.33)
- The catch:
- Disorder groups relied on diagnosis codes, which can miss undiagnosed conditions
- Why it’s aging research:
- It bears on staying healthy in midlife and later life.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Among 373,417 adults aged 40–90 without prior stroke, a retrospective cohort study examined linked electronic medical records from the All of Us Research Program. Researchers grouped adults by diagnoses of stress-related disorders, sleep disorders, both or neither. They tracked new strokes for up to four years. Stress-related disorders included anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
There were 19,629 new strokes. After adjustment for other factors, adults with both kinds of disorders had the highest stroke risk. However, their combined excess risk was less than the sum of the separate excess risks. Associations strengthened with age. Accounting for heart and blood vessel disease modestly weakened the associations, suggesting these conditions partly contributed to the link.
Why it matters
Stroke prevention as people age could include psychological and sleep health within broader cardiovascular care, as the authors proposed.
Caveats
Other health differences between adults with and without these diagnoses may have contributed to the associations despite statistical adjustment. The findings were reported in a conference abstract.
The paper
Tufts University; Harvard University
AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 Abstract, Nov 2, 2026
Presented at AHA Scientific Sessions 2026, abstract 16458
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