Stroke survivors more prone to suicidal thoughts
New research has shown that stroke survivors are more likely to have suicidal thoughts than survivors of other diseases.
Stroke survivors are more likely to have suicidal thoughts, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of Southern California found that one in 12 stroke survivors would rather be dead.
That is far higher than those suffering from other health conditions, said Medical XPress.
For instance, the study found 7.8 percent of stroke survivors contemplated suicide compared to 6.2 percent of heart attack survivors.
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They found that 5.2 percent of diabetes patients and 4.1 percent of cancer survivors wanted to die.
To find the data, researchers used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) conducted from 2005 to 2010.
The surveys included up to 700 stroke survivors, said KFDM 6.
It is still unclear why strokes are more likely to lead to suicidal thoughts but it could be due to worse functional outcomes for patients, said Medical XPress.
About seven million Americans have a history of stroke.
The findings were presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference.
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