BOSTON—According to a study published in Stroke, leisure-time physical activity was associated with lower stroke risk in women; in particular, walking was generally associated with lower risks of total, ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke (2010; DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.584300). A total of 39,315 healthy U.S. women, 45 years of age, from the Women's Health Study, reported physical activity at baseline (1992 to 1995) and at 36, 72, 96, 125 and 149 months' follow-up. During an average follow-up of 11.9 years, 579 women developed incident stroke (473 ischemic, 102 hemorrhagic, and four of unknown type).
The multivariable relative risks associated with less than 200, 200 to 599, 600 to 1,499, and 1,500 kcal/week of leisure-time physical activity were 1.00 , 1.11, 0.86 and 0.83, respectively (P trend=0.06). Similar results were observed for ischemic stroke, whereas no associations were observed for hemorrhagic stroke. Vigorous physical activity was not related to stroke risk (P trend=0.50); however, walking time and walking pace were inversely related, either significantly or with borderline significance, to total, ischemic, and hemorrhagic stroke risks (P trend between 0.002 and 0.07).
