Two common dietary habits could be driving an alarming rise in debilitating strokes, a landmark study suggests.
Experts found that drinking soft drinks and a diet low in Omega-6, a type of fat vital to health, were among the 23 factors behind eight out of ten cases of stroke.
Air pollution, high blood pressure, smoking, a sedentary lifestyle and high cholesterol were among the causes identified by the scientists.
Between 1990 and 2021, the number of people suffering from medical emergencies increased by 70%. Fatal strokes increased by 44%.
Experts said the study, published in the prestigious journal The Lancet Neurology, provides “tremendous” hope that the disease can be tackled with lifestyle changes.
The world’s leading experts found that two risk factors – soft drinks and a diet poor in Omega-6 – are among 23 factors that combined are responsible for 84 percent of cases worldwide. The soft drink Coca Cola is pictured above, although the research did not mention any brand.
The symptoms of a stroke are often remembered under this four-letter acronym, FAST, which stands for Face, Arms, Speech, and Time.
Other telltale signs of an impending stroke, which are equally common, often go unnoticed. These include sudden numbness on one side of the body, sudden dizziness and difficulty swallowing.
Strokes affect more than 100,000 Britons every year (one every five minutes) and claim 38,000 lives.
This makes it the fourth leading cause of death in the UK and a leading cause of disability.
Nearly 800,000 people are attacked each year in the United States, resulting in 137,000 deaths.
The problem occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted, causing brain cells to die. The damage can lead to long-term disability and affect the way people think and feel.
The most common cause is fatty deposits or a blood clot that blocks the arteries supplying blood to the brain, known as an ischemic stroke.
This happens due to cardiovascular disease, when blood vessels become narrowed or blocked over time by plaques.
They are made of cholesterol, calcium and other substances that build up on the walls of the arteries in a process known as atherosclerosis.
Experts have long advised against consuming soft drinks because of their consistent negative association with cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease.
Meanwhile, a diet low in omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids — found in Vegetable oils, nuts and seeds accounted for a five percent increase.
Omega-6 is thought to play a role in improving heart and circulatory health, and poor diets high in ultra-processed foods may be low in this nutrient.
High BMI also accounted for a staggering 88 percent increase.
Study co-author Dr Catherine Johnson, a cardiovascular disease expert at the University of Washington, said: ‘With 84 per cent of the burden of stroke linked to 23 modifiable risk factors, there are tremendous opportunities to alter the trajectory of stroke risk for the next generation.
‘With increasing exposure to risk factors such as high blood sugar and a diet rich in sugary drinks, there is a critical need for interventions targeting obesity and metabolic syndromes.
“Identifying sustainable ways to work with communities to take action to prevent and control modifiable risk factors for stroke is essential to addressing this growing crisis.”
For the first time, the study, presented at the World Stroke Congress in Abu Dhabi, also revealed how important particulate air pollution can be for fatal brain haemorrhage.
It contributed to 14 percent of deaths and disabilities caused by this serious subtype of stroke, and the study indicates that it is comparable to smoking.
Half of all disabilities and lives lost due to stroke globally (81 million years of healthy life lost) in 2021 were the result of hemorrhagic stroke, the deadliest form.
These are strokes that occur due to bleeding in the brain.
This is despite the fact that they are about half as common as ischemic strokes.
Ischemic strokes are linked to heart disease, a problem that affects 7.6 million people in Britain and 30 million in the United States.
But progress has been made in reducing the global burden of stroke due to risk factors linked to other areas such as poor diet, air pollution and smoking, the study found.
Health loss due to diets high in processed meat and low in vegetables was reduced by 40 and 30 percent, respectively.
However, air pollution from suspended particles was reduced by 20 percent and smoking by 13 percent.