Drugs Increase Stroke Risk, Especially in Young Adults
Recreational drug use linked to higher stroke risk, especially younger adults.
Study combined Mendelian randomisation with meta-analysis of 100M+ people.
Cocaine linked to 96% increased stroke risk, amphetamines 122%, cannabis 37%.
Disordered cocaine use linked to brain hemorrhage and cardioembolic stroke.
Stroke affects 100K people annually in the UK.
Drugs stress cardiovascular system, per University of Cambridge.
Genetic analyses suggest causality for some drugs, but amphetamines couldn't be assessed due to data lack.
2024 Office for National Statistics reports 2.9M adults used drugs.
3 hours ago