Older Adult Children of Divorce May Have Higher Stroke Risk

If your parents split up when you were a kid, you probably remember the emotional whiplash:
new homes, new routines, maybe new step-people whose names you had to relearn every holiday.
What most of us didn’t realize? That childhood family drama might also be leaving a mark on
our long-term physical health including our risk of stroke later in life.

New research suggests that older adults whose parents divorced before they turned 18 have a
significantly higher chance of having had a stroke compared with those from intact families.
That sounds scary, but it’s really a wake-up call, not a life sentence. This article breaks
down what the study actually found, why childhood stress might echo through your blood vessels
decades later, and most importantly what you can do about it now.

What the New Study Actually Found

In 2025, a large study published in the journal PLOS ONE examined more than
13,000 U.S. adults aged 65 and older. Researchers focused on people who did not report
childhood physical or sexual abuse so they could isolate the impact of one factor:
parental divorce during childhood.

The key findings were eye-opening:

• Adults whose parents divorced before they turned 18 had about
  1.61 times higher odds of having had a stroke than those whose parents stayed together
  roughly a 60% higher risk.
• This association held even after adjusting for classic stroke risk factors like smoking,
  low income, diabetes, physical inactivity, and depression.
• The increased stroke risk was similar in men and women and could not be fully explained
  by adult lifestyle or socioeconomic differences.

Put simply, parental divorce showed up as an independent risk marker on the same order of
magnitude as some well-known risk factors like depression and diabetes.

Other reports summarizing the study, including coverage from popular outlets like
People, ScienceAlert, and SciTechDaily, echoed the same story:
children of divorce were substantially more likely to have a stroke later in life,
even when other health and lifestyle factors were taken into account.

Why Would a Childhood Divorce Affect Stroke Risk Decades Later?

At first glance, it seems unfair that something that happened before you could drive a car
might still be influencing your blood vessels in retirement. But scientists have been tracking
the health impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) things like abuse,
neglect, or serious family disruption for years. The pattern is clear: early life stress
can raise the risk of heart disease, stroke, and early death.

The Biology of “Toxic Stress”

Not all stress is harmful. Having to give a class presentation or learn to ride a bike is
“positive stress” uncomfortable, but growth-promoting. The problem is
toxic stress: long-lasting, intense stress without stable, supportive caregiving.
Major family disruption like a high-conflict divorce, sudden separation from a parent, or
prolonged legal and financial turmoil can create exactly that environment.

Toxic stress can:

• Keep stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline elevated for long periods
• Change how the brain’s emotion and threat systems are wired
• Promote chronic inflammation throughout the body
• Increase blood pressure, blood sugar, and harmful cholesterol levels over time

Those biological changes land squarely in the “how to build a stroke from scratch”
handbook: high blood pressure, inflamed blood vessels, and metabolic problems all increase
the risk of blood clots and vessel damage in the brain.

From Emotional Fallout to Health Behaviors

The pathway isn’t just biological. People who grow up in unstable or high-stress homes have
higher rates of:

• Depression and anxiety
• Post-traumatic stress symptoms
• Substance use, including smoking and heavy drinking
• Poor sleep and disordered eating

Studies show that exposure to distressing or traumatic environments in childhood is linked to
a higher chance of heart attacks and strokes by middle age, even after accounting for adult
risk factors.
In other words, early family stress can quietly shape a lifetime of coping habits some
healthy, some not so much.

Parental divorce doesn’t automatically equal toxic stress; many families navigate divorce
with remarkable care and stability. But when divorce comes with prolonged conflict, financial
insecurity, moving repeatedly, or feeling emotionally “caught in the middle,” the experience
can be deeply stressful for a child’s mind and body.

Does This Mean Every Child of Divorce Is Doomed to Have a Stroke?

Short answer: no. Longer answer: this is about probabilities, not destiny.

The research on parental divorce and stroke is observational. It shows a strong association,
but it does not prove that the divorce itself directly causes strokes. There may be other
unmeasured factors like genetic vulnerability, community environment, or unreported trauma
that also play a role.

Even so, the consistent findings across multiple analyses suggest that
growing up in a disrupted family system can be an important risk marker that doctors
and patients should be aware of.

Beyond the statistics, it’s crucial to remember the concept of
resilience. Many people who experienced parental divorce:

• Develop strong coping skills and emotional intelligence
• Build supportive relationships and stable adult lives
• Make health-conscious choices precisely because they don’t want to repeat the past

These protective factors can dramatically reduce the impact of early-life stress on physical
health. Think of your history as a risk map, not a locked-in forecast.

What Older Adult Children of Divorce Can Do Right Now

If you’re an older adult who lived through your parents’ divorce, you don’t need a time
machine you need a plan. The good news is that almost all stroke prevention strategies are
helpful regardless of why your risk is a bit higher.

1. Tell Your Doctor Your Childhood Story

It might feel strange to bring up your parents’ divorce at a cardiology visit, but your
childhood family history can be medically relevant. Let your healthcare provider know:

• That your parents divorced before you turned 18
• Whether it involved high conflict, frequent moves, or major financial instability
• Any other significant childhood stresses (even if they seem “normal” to you now)

This context can nudge your provider to monitor your blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar,
and mental health more proactively, especially as you age.

2. Double Down on the Big Modifiable Risks

Whether or not your parents split up, stroke prevention still revolves around a few
very not-glamorous, very powerful basics. Guidelines from major heart organizations emphasize:​

• Blood pressure: aim to keep it in a healthy range with diet, exercise, and medication if needed.
• Blood sugar: manage diabetes or prediabetes early and consistently.
• Cholesterol: prioritize heart-healthy eating and medications when appropriate.
• Movement: target at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week (yes, walking counts).
• Smoking: if you smoke, quitting is one of the single best stroke-prevention moves you can make.
• Sleep: aim for 7–9 hours of good-quality sleep and talk to your doctor about snoring or sleep apnea.

For someone with a history of childhood family disruption, these basics are not optional
“nice-to-haves” they are how you rewrite the next chapters of your health story.

3. Address the Emotional Side, Not Just the Numbers

The body keeps score, but so does the mind. Many people who lived through parental divorce
describe:

• Feeling responsible for everyone else’s emotions
• Difficulty trusting partners or fearing abandonment
• Using food, alcohol, or work as coping tools

Working with a therapist especially one familiar with trauma or family-of-origin issues
can help you:

• Recognize long-standing patterns that quietly raise your health risks
• Develop healthier coping strategies for stress and conflict
• Improve sleep, energy, and motivation to stick with medical treatment

Emotional healing doesn’t just feel better; it can positively influence your nervous system,
blood pressure, and inflammation levels over time.

4. Learn the Stroke Warning Signs (FAST)

Even with excellent prevention, strokes can still happen. Knowing the signs and acting quickly
can dramatically improve outcomes. Health organizations often teach the acronym
FAST:

• F – Face drooping: one side of the face droops or feels numb.
• A – Arm weakness: sudden weakness or numbness in one arm.
• S – Speech difficulty: slurred speech or trouble speaking or understanding.
• T – Time to call emergency services: call immediately don’t drive yourself, don’t wait.

If you or someone near you shows these signs, treat it as an emergency. Minutes matter.

What This Research Means for Families and Clinicians

The goal of this type of research is not to blame parents or shame people who get divorced.
Sometimes, divorce is the safest, healthiest option for everyone involved. Instead, these
findings suggest:

• Family structure and childhood stress should be part of routine health conversations.
• Older adults who experienced major childhood disruptions may benefit from more aggressive
  stroke prevention strategies.
• Supporting children through divorce with stability, calm communication, and mental health
  resources could have long-term cardiovascular benefits.

For clinicians, asking a simple question like “Did your parents separate or divorce when
you were young?” might help identify patients who deserve closer monitoring or earlier
lifestyle interventions.

Real-Life Experiences and Reflections

Statistics are helpful, but real lives are what they’re about. While every story is
different, many older adults who grew up with divorced parents share similar themes.
The examples below are composites drawn from common experiences not specific individuals.

Take “Maria,” now 68. Her parents divorced when she was 11, after years of loud arguments
that shook the walls of their small apartment. Overnight, money became tight. Her mother
worked two jobs, and Maria started babysitting her younger siblings instead of joining
after-school activities. She learned early to “be the strong one,” which translated in
adulthood into ignoring her own stress and health needs.

In her 50s, Maria developed high blood pressure. She brushed off headaches and fatigue,
attributing them to work stress and caring for her grandkids. It wasn’t until a close
friend had a stroke that she finally saw her doctor, who discovered not only hypertension
but also elevated cholesterol and prediabetes.

When her provider asked about childhood stress, Maria casually mentioned her parents’
divorce and the “cold war” that preceded it. Her doctor gently connected the dots:
long-term stress in childhood can shape how the body responds to stress forever. That
conversation flipped a switch. Maria started seeing a therapist for the first time in
her life, began walking with a neighbor each morning, and took her medications as
prescribed. Today, her blood pressure and blood sugar are well controlled, and she says
she finally feels like she’s “not running on emergency mode” all the time.

Then there’s “James,” 72, who remembers his parents’ quiet, low-conflict divorce when he
was 9. There were no slammed doors, but there was a sudden move, a new school, and a deep
sense of being “the outsider kid.” He channeled all that discomfort into achievement:
good grades, a strong career, financial security. From the outside, he looked
bulletproof.

Inside, though, James never really relaxed. He had trouble trusting partners and went
through several divorces of his own. He often slept poorly, woke up early to work more,
and relied on coffee and fast food to get through long days. In his late 60s, a mild
stroke forced him to confront the reality that success on paper doesn’t erase old wounds
or their impact on the body.

Now in a stroke support group, James has met others with similar stories: early family
upheaval, years of over-functioning, and health problems that showed up suddenly in
older age. They talk about learning to set boundaries, say no, and allow themselves rest
skills they never learned as children trying to keep their families afloat.

These kinds of experiences highlight a few important truths:

• Awareness is powerful. Simply understanding that your childhood experiences
  might raise your stroke risk can motivate you to take prevention seriously.
• It’s never too late to change course. Even in your 60s or 70s, improving
  blood pressure, quitting smoking, exercising regularly, and treating depression can
  significantly reduce future stroke risk.
• Emotional work matters as much as physical work. Therapy, support groups,
  spiritual communities, and meaningful relationships can calm the stress-response systems
  that have been overfiring since childhood.

If you recognize yourself in these stories, know this: nothing about your parents’
decisions or your childhood circumstances makes you “broken” or beyond help. The new
research simply points to an area where a little extra attention might pay off in a big
way. By combining medical care, lifestyle changes, and emotional healing, you can honor
what you lived through while fiercely protecting the years ahead.

Conclusion: Your History Isn’t Your Fate

The idea that older adult children of divorce may have higher stroke risk is not meant to
alarm you; it’s meant to inform you. Parental divorce appears to be an important piece of
the puzzle when we talk about lifelong health, particularly cardiovascular and brain
health. But it is only one piece.

You can’t rewrite your childhood, but you can reshape your future. Knowing your
numbers, taking stroke prevention seriously, and addressing long-standing emotional stress
are all powerful ways to lower your risk no matter what happened in your family decades
ago. If this research resonates with your story, talk with your healthcare provider about
how to build a personalized stroke-prevention plan that respects both your past and your
goals for the years ahead.