Abstract P242: US Secular Trends in Coronary Heart Disease, Heart Attack/Myocardial Infarction, and Stroke Prevalence, by Race/Ethnicity, 2005-2010

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) trends are important for the evaluation of disease burden in the context of health disparities. The US has become increasingly diverse in the last few decades, calling for a greater understanding of secular trends in coronary heart disease (CHD), heart attack (HA)/myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke, particularly among Hispanics. For this study, the main objective is to identify secular trends in CVD between 2005-2010 by race/ethnicity, with focus on Hispanic men and women, to shed light on the epidemiological phenomenon known as the Hispanic Paradox. Methods: Data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey was used to assess secular trends between 2005 and 2010. Respondents of the survey were 18 years of age or older and all data was self-report. The telephone survey was conducted cross-sectionally each year. Questions included, “Ever diagnosed with angina or coronary heart disease?” “Ever diagnosed with stroke?” and “Ever diagnosed with a heart attack?”. Means, frequencies, chi-square tests, and Cochran-Armitage trend tests were performed to assess comparisons across groups and to determine statistical significance for trends. Results: Data in this study were weighted to account for over- and under-representation of ages, race, and income. There were statistically significant differences in prevalence between race/ethnicities for all years, with Hispanics having the lowest prevalence of all three conditions compared to the other races. Among Hispanics, there were statistically significant differences between genders, with men having higher prevalence of CHD/Angina, HA/MI, and stroke than women. No significant trends were found, other than between 2008 and 2010 in all races for CHD/Angina. Conclusions: Overall, there were no significant secular trends for CHD/Angina, HA/MI, or stroke among Hispanics in this study. However, the consistently low prevalence over time of CVD among Hispanics, as compared to other African Americans and Caucasians in this sample, may indicate that more attention is needed for relevant social determinants of health in this population. Furthermore, this data may help to further strengthen support for the Hispanic Paradox, though these results should be interpreted within the limitations inherent to the dataset.