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Women's higher risk for stroke compared with men is not explained fully by traditional risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes. Some evidence links pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes and preeclampsia to subsequent stroke, but how infertility, miscarriage, and stillbirth might affect stroke risk remains unclear.
Researchers pooled data from eight large cohort studies that included 600,000 women (age range, 32–73) from seven countries who reported infertility, miscarriage, or stillbirth. Data were collected on nonfatal and fatal stroke during median follow-up of 13 and 9 years, respectively, and results were as follows:
Infertility was associated with 14% higher risk for nonfatal stroke, driven primarily by ischemic stroke…