Ethnic disparities in risk factors for stroke: what are the implications?

Abstract

In the current issue of Stroke , 2 studies report ethnic differences in stroke prevalence and risk factor prevalence and impact. Although it has been suggested that environmental-gene, socioeconomic, and behavioral interplays underlie ethnic disparities in cardiovascular risk factor profiles,1–7 reasons for observed ethnic differences in stroke incidence and mortality rates8–10 are not fully understood and little is known about ethnic disparities in stroke risk factors. In a prevalence study in the USA,11 Henraya McGruder and colleagues analyzed racial and ethnic differences in the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among stroke survivors based on the 3 recent national household-based interview surveys. The study demonstrated substantial racial/ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk behaviors and medical history among stroke survivors. The study was focused mainly on risk factors, showing that blacks and Hispanics have a higher prevalence of obesity and are more likely to report diabetes, inadequate levels of physical activity, and hypertension (commonly blacks), and are less likely to report coronary heart disease than whites. However, the study also included important data on racial/ethnic differences in stroke prevalence, with the rates being almost 1.5 times higher in blacks compared to whites or Hispanics. In a population-based case–control study in the UK,12 Cother Hajat and colleagues estimated population attributable …