Study uncovers potentially deadly risk found in children of divorced parents

A study has revealed the worrying results of being a child of divorce and the long-term effects it can have on a person.

The immediate effects of a child's parents who decided to divorce can include poor performance at school, becoming emotionally sensitive, and loss of interest in social activity, says FamilyMeans — but these typically decrease in the years that follow.

However, it's been found that being a child of divorce can go on to affect some individuals until late into adulthood.

A new study has looked at 13,000 American adults aged 65 and over, and found that one in nine of respondents who experienced their parents divorcing as a child went on to be diagnosed with a potentially fatal condition.

This was in comparison to one in 15 people whose parents stayed together.

The condition that they were diagnosed with was a stroke; something that kills five million people a year across the globe.

Strokes were accountable for one in six cardiovascular disease-related deaths in the US in 2022, reported the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Children of divorce are more likely to have a stroke in later life (Getty Stock)

Mary Kate Schilke, first author, university lecturer in the Psychology Department at Tyndale University, said of the findings: "Our study indicates that even after taking into account most of the known risk factors associated with stroke — including smoking, physical inactivity, lower income and education, diabetes, depression, and low social support — those whose parents had divorced still had 61% higher odds of having a stroke."

The link between being a child of divorce and increased risk of having a stroke is similar in magnitude to two other risk factors associated to strokes: depression and diabetes, News Medical reported.

It's believed the link between experiencing your parents divorcing as a child and increased risk of stroke could come down to stress hormones.

The link between being a child of divorce and strokes could be down to stress (Getty Stock)

"From a biological embedding perspective, having your parents split up during childhood could lead to sustained high levels of stress hormones," explained Professor Esme Fuller-Thomson, of the University of Toronto.

"Experiencing this as a child could have lasting influences on the developing brain and a child’s ability to respond to stress."

This stress may have then affected the child's sleep, which also contributes to risk of having a stroke later in life.

Fuller-Thompson said, as per Mail Online: "We don’t know why people whose parents have divorced when they were children have a higher prevalence of stroke, but it may be that the stress impacts their sleep quality.

"There is evidence that sleep disruption during childhood can set people up for developing insomnia in later life, and that may increase the risk of having a stroke.

"The prolonged stress of your parents separating may also permanently change the body’s response to stress, producing elevated levels of stress hormones like cortisol which can cause inflammation in the body and increase the risk of having a stroke."