The Association Between Race and Stroke Prevalence in a Patient Cohort in Mississippi

The risk factors for stroke, including hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, heavy alcohol use, and prior history of stroke, are well known. In Mississippi, there is often a wider gulf of socioeconomic disparities between racial groups than in other regions within the United States. This increases the effect of these disparities in minority populations. The goal of this research is to determine whether there is an increased risk of stroke prevalence in the black community than in the white population. The odds ratio of 1.5 (CI 1.3818 - 1.5591) was returned for this analysis. White patients diagnosed with stroke represented 38 percent of the cohort while black patients totaled 62 percent of this cohort. There is a higher prevalence of stroke in the black population compared to the white population in this study cohort. The importance of this finding is apparent upon consideration of deficiencies in the management of risk factors. Note: The University of Mississippi Medical Center Patient Cohort explorer database search used for this study uses a data filter set for 'black' or 'African-American' in the search query. This study includes those patients designated 'black' or 'African-American' admitted with stroke at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. For clarity, this cohort will be identified in this paper as 'black Americans.'