Cluster Enrollment: A Screening Tool for Stroke Risk Factors in Minority Women Caregivers

Women minorities have an overall increased lifetime incidence of cerebrovascular disease. The provision of risk factor modification in this group can prove difficult. In a population-based study, we used cluster enrollment to identify vascular risk factors in the female caregivers of stroke survivor study participants.

Obese women caregivers were identified as part of Swipe out Stroke, a Phase I PROBE study assessing the use of SmartPhone based intervention for dietary modification in minority stroke survivors. After written informed consent was obtained, both patients and caregivers were screened for vascular risk factors at study enrollment. Descriptive statistics were used to depict the study population. Continuous baseline variables were compared using 2 sample t-test or Wilcoxon rank-sum test by caregivers and patients. Categorical baseline variables were compared using Fisher's exact test.

Thirty-six stroke patients (63.9% African-American, 36.1% Hispanic) and thirteen female caregivers (69.2% African-American, 30.8% Hispanic) were enrolled. Mean age, patients - 54.1 (SD 9.4), caregivers - 51.3 (SD 15.6) years, education, employment status and family history of stroke or obesity did not differ significantly. Compared to stroke patients, female caregivers were significantly less likely to self-report hypertension (69.2 versus 97.2%; P = 0.01) and hyperlipidemia (16.7 versus 60%; P = 0.02). Female caregivers were more likely to have elevated systolic blood pressure (147.6 vs 127.7 mmHg; P = 0.05), total cholesterol (207.5 versus 167 mg/dL; P = 0.01) and low density lipoprotein values (119.5 versus 88 mg/dL; P = 0.03) compared to stroke patients.

Using cluster enrollment, we discovered minority female caregivers were more likely to have unknown or poorly controlled vascular risk factors compared to stroke patients. Innovative health screening tools may benefit the extended family of minority patients participating in clinical trials.