‘Doodle’ to predict strokes death
Simply ‘doodling’ with a pen and paper may predict the long-term risk of dying after a first stroke among older men, a new study reveals. The research paper, published in the online journal BMJ Open, analysed data looking at different risk factors for heart disease and stroke in 2,322 men since the age of 50 years.
Simply ‘doodling’ with a pen and paper may predict the long-term risk of dying after a first stroke among older men, a new study reveals.
The research paper, published in the online journal BMJ Open, analysed data looking at different risk factors for heart disease and stroke in 2,322 men since the age of 50 years.
MedicalSearch reports the study is based on just less than 1,000 of these men who had not been diagnosed with stroke and whose intellectual capacity was assessed when they were aged between 65 and 75 years.
Assessments were made using both the Trail Making Test (TMT) and the mini mental state exam (MMSE).
The TMT involves drawing lines with a pencil between numbers and/or letters in ascending order, as quickly as possible, while the MMSE sets participants general cognitive tasks such as orientation, memory and numeracy.
During the 14-year monitoring period from 1991 to 2006, 155 men had a first major or minor stroke known as a transient ischaemic attack (TIA). Just more than half of them died within an average of 2.5 years, with 22 dying within a month of their stroke.
Those who performed badly in the TMT were more likely to have died, after considering known risks factors such as older age and high blood pressure.
