Infertility Tx Tied to Higher Risk for Stroke Hospitalization

TUESDAY, Sept. 5, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Infertility treatment is associated with an increased risk for stroke hospitalization within 12 months of delivery, according to a study published online Aug. 30 in JAMA Network Open.

Devika Sachdev, M.D., from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and colleagues evaluated the risk for hospitalization from hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes in patients who underwent infertility treatment. The analysis included 31.3 million individuals (aged 15 to 54 years) who had a hospital delivery from January to November in a given calendar year from 2010 to 2018 and any subsequent hospitalizations from January to December in the same calendar year of delivery. Data were extracted from the Nationwide Readmissions Database.

The researchers found that the rate of stroke hospitalization within 12 months of delivery was 37 hospitalizations per 100,000 people for those who received infertility treatment versus 29 hospitalizations per 100,000 people for those who delivered after spontaneous conception (rate difference, 8 hospitalizations per 100,000 people; hazard ratio [HR], 1.66). A higher risk for hospitalization was seen for hemorrhagic stroke (adjusted HR, 2.02) versus ischemic stroke (adjusted HR, 1.55). With increasing time from delivery, the risk for stroke hospitalization increased, particularly for hemorrhagic strokes.

“Optimal screening for risk and timely follow-up should be considered to mitigate factors associated with stroke in the antepartum and postpartum periods,” the authors write.

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