Stroke Risk May Start In Womb

Stroke Risk May Start In Womb

Stroke Risk May Start in the Womb

Poverty, Poor Nutrition Leaves Lasting Legacy of Stroke

June 19, 2003 -- Poverty and poor nutrition nearly a century ago may have left a lasting impression on stroke risk among future generations.

New research shows that poor living conditions in certain areas of the U.S. and England in the early 20th century may explain the higher rates of stroke a generation later in the "stroke belt" regions.

The study, published in the June issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, suggests that stroke risk may begin in the womb through poor nutrition and poverty among mothers.

'Stroke Belt' Patterns

Researchers say there has been a clear pattern of higher stroke rates among rural towns in northern England and Wales and the southeastern U.S. for many years that is not yet fully understood. For example, stroke-related deaths in the Southeast are up to 10% higher than the national average in the U.S., and these differences are not explained by variations in the quality of medical care.

But researcher David Barker, F.R.S., of the University of Southampton, England, and colleagues say these regions were plagued by poverty and poor living standards at the turn of the last century due to the effects of the industrial revolution and social changes that began with the Civil War and continued until the Depression.

In their study, researchers compared studies on the geographic distribution of strokes between 1968 and 1978 with data on infant and maternal deaths 50 years earlier, approximately when those stroke victims were born. They also analyzed average adult heights, an indicator of poor prenatal growth and nutrition in childhood, in these areas.

They found the same areas that had high stroke rates in the 1960s and 1970s also had high rates of maternal and infant deaths earlier in the century. Mothers at that time in these areas tended to live in poverty, have poorer nutrition and health in general, and their infants had lower birth weights than those born in other regions.

The study also showed that people who were born in these "stroke belts" had a higher stroke risk than those who moved there as adults.