Insomnia Significantly Elevates the Risk of Stroke Among Young Adults

Young adults plagued with insomnia have an eight-fold higher risk of stroke when compared to those without sleeping problems, according to a new Taiwan study.

The study reported by the American Heart Association reveals that insomnia elevates the risk of stroke and stroke hospitalization. The risk of stroke is even higher when insomnia occurs in young adults when compared to older insomniacs. 

 For this study, the researchers randomly examined the health records of over 21,000 people with insomnia and over 64,000 non-insomniacs in Taiwan.

The researchers noticed that those having trouble sleeping suffer a greater chance of hospitalization for stroke.  The risk is high by 54 percent over four years.  Also, the occurrence of stroke was eight times higher among people diagnosed with sleeping problems between 18-34 years old.  The risk of stroke dropped gradually if the insomniacs were beyond 35 years. Another factor that increased the risk of stroke in insomniacs was diabetes.

"We feel strongly that individuals with chronic insomnia, particularly younger persons, see their physician to have stroke risk factors assessed and, when indicated, treated appropriately," Ya-Wen Hsu, Ph.D., study author and an assistant professor at Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, said in a statement. "Our findings also highlight the clinical importance of screening for insomnia at younger ages. Treating insomnia is also very important, whether by medication or cognitive therapy."

This is one of the first studies to quantify the risk in a huge population group and assess whether the risk of stroke differs by insomnia subtypes.

For this study the researchers divided the participants into groups according to various types of insomnia. None of the study participants had a history of stroke or sleep apnea.  The different types of insomnia included difficulty in sleeping or maintaining sleep, chronic or persistent insomnia that stayed for 1-6 months, relapse of insomnia and remission- a change from a diagnosis of insomnia to non-insomnia.

In the four-year study, 583 insomniacs and 962 non-insomniacs were hospitalized for stroke. Persistent insomniacs had a higher three-year cumulative incidence of stroke when compared to those in the remission group.

What remains is a mystery is the underlying mechanism that ties insomnia to stroke. Based on the evidence, it is known that insomnia affects the cardiovascular health though systematic inflammation, changes glucose tolerance, increases blood pressure or sympathetic hyperactivity.  Other factors that influence this relationship are behavioral and psychological factors.

The researchers are not sure if this association between insomnia and stroke is applicable to insomniacs present in other nation.

 "Individuals should not simply accept insomnia as a benign, although difficult, condition that carries no major health risks," Hsu said. "They should seek medical evaluation of other possible risk factors that might contribute to stroke."

Insufficient sleep is linked to an array of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, depression and cardiovascular diseases.  Over one-quarter of the U.S. population suffer from sleeping problems and 10 percent of them experience chronic insomnia. Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death and a major cause of disability among Americans. On an average, one American dies from a stroke every four minutes, reports Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The finding was reported in the journal Stroke.