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ANN ARBOR,
MI - A new study finds significant medical and demographic
differences between Mexican American and non-Hispanic white stroke
patients - differences that should be taken into account by those
trying to prevent stroke in Hispanic populations, the researchers
suggest.
The study,
led by University of Michigan
researchers and released today at the 28th International Stroke
Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, is based on 808 interviews with
Mexican American and non-Hispanic white stroke subjects in the ethnically
diverse Corpus Christi area of Texas.
The effort
is part of the nation's only major study of stroke in Mexican Americans,
the largest sub-group of the Hispanic population that is now the
largest minority population in the United States.
The results
show significant differences between the two groups in conditions
that increase the risk of stroke, like diabetes; use of preventive
measures such as blood-thinning drugs; access to care; and general
characteristics of age, education, and income.
Understanding
these differences in stroke risk, access to care, and demographics
could help stroke-prevention campaigns tailor their approaches to
the Hispanic community and increase their effectiveness, the researchers
say.
"The effort
to reduce stroke's impact on the Hispanic population must mean more
than simply translating brochures into Spanish," says senior
author Lewis
Morgenstern, M.D., director of the U-M Stroke Program and associate
professor of neurology. "We must look at the role that acculturation
plays, especially issues of understanding and trust of the health
care system, and social factors."
The results
are from the five-year, $2.5 million BASIC, or Brain Attack Surveillance
in Corpus Christi, study. BASIC aims to answer important questions
about how common stroke is in the Hispanic community, and what factors
influence the rates of stroke and stroke death. Morgenstern began
the study in 1999 while he was at the University of Texas-Houston
Medical School, and is continuing it at the U-M.
Project manager
Melinda Smith Cox, M.P.H., who will discuss the findings at a Feb.
14 press briefing, says, "It's crucial that we understand this
population's special issues so we can incorporate them into stroke
prevention and treatment programs."
About 730,000
Americans suffer strokes each year. Stroke is the nation's third
leading cause of death, killing more than 160,000 American each
year; it is also the leading cause of disability. More than 4.5
million Americans are stroke survivors.
The researchers
obtained their data by interviewing 323 Mexican Americans and 340
non-Hispanic whites who had had strokes in Corpus Christi during
the years 2000 and 2001.
The effort
was part of the BASIC study's overall approach of passive and active
stroke surveillance in hospitals and nursing homes in the city and
surrounding area of 300,000 residents, who are almost equally divided
between Mexican-Americans and non-Hispanic whites. BASIC is funded
by the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, part
of the National Institutes of Health.
Interviews
were conducted in English or Spanish, according to patient preference.
Fifty-four percent of the Mexican American patients said they preferred
to use Spanish in everyday life, and 33 percent had little or no
English skills.
The analysis
found many statistically significant differences between the two
groups. The Mexican-Americans were younger than the non-Hispanic
whites, with an average age of 69.9 as opposed to 75.3. The Mexican-Americans
were also less likely to have graduated from high school and more
likely to earn less than $20,000 per year.
They were also
more likely than the non-Hispanic whites to have diabetes, which
significantly raise the risk of stroke, but they were less likely
to have atrial fibrillation, a heart-rhythm disorder that also increases
stroke risk.
Mexican-Americans
in the study who had had a stroke previously were less likely than
non-Hispanic whites to be taking blood-thinning drugs that can reduce
the risk of repeated stroke by preventing clot formation. There
were no differences in medication use among patients who had high
blood pressure or diabetes.
There were
also no differences between the two populations in alcohol use,
smoking status, or rate of having a regular primary care physician.
Morgenstern
and Cox intend to continue analyzing and compiling data from the
study to look for more patterns that might help them and others
understand what factors influence stroke risk among Hispanics. And,
they and their colleagues will continue working on the study of
stroke patterns among Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites
in Corpus Christi, which will give important data on stroke incidence
in this sub group of the Hispanic population.
Written
by: Kara Gavin
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