(Stroke. 1999;30:1711-1715.)
© 1999 American Heart Association, Inc.
Comments, Opinions, and Reviews |
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, Md.
Correspondence to R.F. Gillum, MD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Room 730, 6525 Belcrest Rd, Hyattsville, MD 20782.
| Abstract |
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Summary of ReviewThe third leading cause of death in black women and the sixth in black men in the United States in 1996, stroke accounted for 10 509 deaths in women and 7972 in men among blacks: 7.92% and 5.33%, respectively, of the total deaths. Age-adjusted death rates per 100 000 were black women, 39.2; white women, 22.9; black men, 50.9; and white men, 26.3. Available data indicate that compared with US whites, US blacks have greater mortality rates for every stroke subtype, with the likely exception of cerebral infarction due to extracranial carotid artery occlusion. These differences will persist into the 21st century. The number of stroke deaths in blacks increased by >8% between 1992 and 1996.
ConclusionsIncreased research on stroke in blacks is needed to develop more effective strategies for primary and secondary prevention of stroke to reduce the high burden of premature mortality and morbidity. Renewed efforts to prevent and control stroke risk factors (in particular elevated blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking) are needed among US blacks.
Key Words: blacks cerebrovascular disorders mortality
| Introduction |
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| Methods |
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In addition, a detailed search of the medical literature since 1987 was performed using the MEDLINE database of the National Library of Medicine and the Science Citation Index database of the Institute for Scientific Information. Population-based studies with substantial numbers of blacks were selected for review.
| Recent US National Data |
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| Results From the Literature |
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For at least 50 years, US blacks have had rates of stroke death 5 or 6
times higher than whites at ages 35 to 44, with ratios declining with
increasing age until above age 75 rates they are lower in
blacks.3 4 5 6 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In 1996, age- and sex-specific race
ratios (B/W), shown in Table 1
,
were inversely related to age and a crossover in mortality rates
occurred for the age
85 years group, with white rates exceeding black
rates.1 Because of this marked interaction of age with
race, age-adjusted rates tend to obscure the large excess stroke
mortality among blacks at younger ages4 14 15 16 17 (Table 1
). A comparison of years of life lost (YLL) before age 75 may
better reflect the excess stroke burden in blacks.1 In
1995, stroke was responsible for 601 YLL per 100 000 in black men
compared with 196 in white men (ratio 3.1); in women rates were 417 and
157 (ratio 2.7), respectively. These ratios are considerably higher
than those for age-adjusted mortality. Thus it is important to examine
age-specific rates and YLL when making racial comparisons.
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A marked slowdown in the long-term decline in stroke mortality has now been documented, but the reasons for the decline remain to be established. Long-term trends in stroke mortality before 1979 have been extensively discussed elsewhere, together with problems in the interpretation of vital statistics data.3 4 12 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A decline in age-adjusted stroke death rate for black females began in 1924, about the same time as for white females; however the decline was much slower than in whites.3 A decline did not begin for black males until 1930, and it was also much slower than in whites. In North Carolina, as in the whole United States, the absolute disparity by sex and race decreased between 1962 and 1987, while the ratio of black to white mortality rates remained relatively constant.21 Declines accelerated for all groups in the 1970s.10
Since the early 1980s a marked slowdown has occurred in the decline in
US stroke mortality in black and white Americans (Figure 1
).4 20 21 22 23 24 25 The serious impact of this slowdown in
the decline of stroke mortality in the United States since 1978 is even
greater than previously thought.20 The rate of decline in
19871994 had returned to that seen in the 1960s, before the
widespread availability of antihypertensive therapy; this occurred in
each sex-race group.23 This has caused the number of
stroke deaths in blacks to rise since 1992, reversing a steady
long-term decline (Figure 2
). A similar trend was seen in
whites. Published data on trends in incidence and case fatality of
stroke in blacks are few. One analysis of Medicare data from
1985 to 1991 revealed no significant trend in stroke incidence for
blacks; no analysis of case fatality trends for blacks was
reported.24 The slowdown in the decline in stroke
mortality may be related to a similar, though less dramatic, slowdown
in the decline in ischemic heart disease mortality, especially
apparent among blacks.25 The rising prevalence of chronic
ischemic heart disease and heart failure, diabetes, and
obesity, which increase the pool of persons at high risk for stroke,
and the failure of hypertension control rates to improve after
19881991 seem to be good candidates to explain, at least in part, the
slowdown in the decline of stroke mortality in blacks and
whites.22 23 26
Blacks in the southeast region of the United States continue to suffer the highest stroke mortality rates, especially in nonmetropolitan areas. In the United States in 19881992, as in earlier studies, considerable geographic variation in age-adjusted stroke mortality was demonstrated for each sex-race group.27 28 29 30 31 In black women and men, previously described high mortality in the southeastern US persisted. Stroke death rates were relatively high in the Carolinas, Georgia, and along the southern Mississippi River for both black and white females.29 31 Surprisingly, rates were high in southern California for black females and along the entire Pacific coast for white females. Rates were highest among black males for the South AtlanticSouth region. For all race-sex groups, there was significant regional variation in the rate of decline during the period 1979 through 1989; the South initially had the highest rates but also had the most rapid decline for all race-sex groups, which resulted in the emergence of high-rate areas in the Mississippi Valley.30 However, the stroke mortality rates among black and white residents of the coastal plain of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia (the "Stroke Belt") continued to show a >40% excess risk of stroke mortality compared with the rest of the United States in recent analyses.28 In 1996, the age-adjusted rate was highest in East South Central region, followed closely by West South Central and South Atlantic regions. Within regions, blacks in nonmetropolitan areas had higher stroke death rates than those in metropolitan areas.22 Studies to explain these geographic patterns and public health programs for high mortality areas are now needed.
Stroke death rates in US blacks in 1990 were similar to rates in Japan,
lower than those in Eastern Europe, but higher than those of US whites
(Figure 3
).4 7 32 In the
1960s, stroke death rates in US blacks and in Japanese were among the
highest in the world3 ; impressive declines in the United
States and Japan occurred to produce the present pattern. Although
reliable stroke mortality rates are largely lacking for black
populations outside the United States, available data indicate
relatively high rates for blacks in urban Africa, the Caribbean, and
Latin America.4 33 However, rates from developing
countries must be interpreted with caution because of possible
inaccuracies in death certification and population enumeration. Studies
of immigrants from developing to developed countries have been
informative.4 8 33 34 35 For example, in England and Wales,
Caribbeans had the highest rates, followed by Africans and Indians, all
of which were higher than rates for whites in England and
Wales.35 Although anecdotal reports suggest low rates of
death from stroke in traditional African societies, blacks who have
adopted Western lifestyles suffer high rates of stroke mortality.
Cohort or surveillance studies are needed to document international
variations in stroke mortality among black populations.
|
US goals for 2000 and 2010. Given the growing burden of
disease,36 national research and stroke control efforts
are vital.37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 Through an extensive consultative
process in the late 1980s, the US Department of Health and Human
Services set a target goal for age-adjusted stroke mortality in blacks
for the year 2000 of 27 deaths per 100 000 (a nearly 50% decline from
a 1987 baseline of 51.2).41 The 1996 rate for blacks was
44.2, well short of the goal for 2000. By a similar process, goals are
being set for the year 2010 (Table 2
).44 Eliminating (not
merely reducing) health disparities among population groups together
with increasing the years and quality of life are the 2 overarching
goals. Suggested but not finalized targets for stroke mortality are 16
per 100 000 for all Americans, white and black. Clearly, achieving the
goals of eliminating racial disparities and achieving desirable targets
will require major new efforts. Given that rate for black men was 51
and that for black women 40 in 1996 it seems likely that such a target
for blacks could only be achieved by some currently unforeseen
breakthrough in prevention or treatment.
|
Recommendations for future population-based research. Table 3
lists future research needs that are
considered to have high priority based on information reviewed.
Although not listed in the table, continuing research on the
prevention and control of stroke risk factors, design and effectiveness
of educational and community-based programs, access to quality health
services, public health infrastructure, diagnosis and management of
acute stroke, and rehabilitation and secondary prevention of stroke are
also of importance.5 45
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| Conclusions |
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Received January 7, 1999; revision received May 29, 1999; accepted May 29, 1999.
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