Study of the Propensity for Hemorrhage in Hispanic Americans With Stroke

• Published in: Journal of stroke and cerebrovascular diseases Vol. 17; no. 2; pp. 58 - 63
• Main Authors: Frey, James L., MD, Jahnke, Heidi K., RN, Goslar, Pamela W., PhD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.03.2008
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aged; Alcohol Drinking - adverse effects; Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology; Arizona - epidemiology; Brain hemorrhage; Cardiovascular; Cerebral Hemorrhage - complications; Cerebral Hemorrhage - ethnology; Cerebral Hemorrhage - etiology; Diabetes Mellitus - epidemiology; epidemiology; ethnic minority; European Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health Services Accessibility; Health Surveys; Hispanic; Hispanic Americans - statistics & numerical data; Hospitals - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Hyperlipidemias - epidemiology; Hypertension - complications; Hypertension - epidemiology; Male; Neurology; Prevalence; Reproducibility of Results; Research Design; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Sex Factors; Stroke - ethnology; Stroke - etiology; Arizona; epidemiology; Brain hemorrhage; Hispanic; ethnic minority
• ISSN: 1052-3057; 1532-8511
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2007.12.001

Objective Multiple sources document a higher proportion of intraparenchymal hemorrhage (HEM) in Hispanic (HIS) than white (WHI) patients with stroke. We sought an explanation for this phenomenon through analysis of multiple variables in our hospital-based stroke population. Methods We performed univariate and multivariate analysis of risk factors in our HIS and WHI patients with stroke to identify differences that might account for a greater propensity for HEM in HIS patients. Results Multivariate analysis disclosed that the risk of HEM correlated significantly with untreated hypertension (HTN), HIS ethnicity, and heavy alcohol intake. A negative correlation was found for hyperlipidemia and diabetes. Our HIS patients with stroke had a greater prevalence of untreated HTN and heavy alcohol intake, with HIS men being at greatest risk. Conclusions HIS patients with stroke in our hospital-based population appear relatively more prone to HEM than do WHI patients. This risk correlates with a greater likelihood of having untreated HTN and heavy alcohol intake, more so for HIS men. The explanation appears to be a relative lack of health awareness and involvement in our health care system. The possibility that HIS ethnicity itself constitutes a biological risk factor for HEM remains a matter of speculation. Validation of this work with community data should lead to remediation through a community-based effort.