Stroke and African Americans

African American adults are twice as likely to have a stroke than their White adult counterparts. Further, men are 60% more likely to die from a stroke than their White adult counterparts. Analysis from a CDC health interview survey also reveals that African Americans stroke survivors are more likely to become disabled and have difficulty with activities of daily living than their non-Hispanic white counterparts.

At a glance – Diagnosed Cases of Stroke:

**Age-adjusted percentages of stroke among persons 18 years of age and over, 2006**
	African American	White	African American/ White Ratio
Men and Women	4.7	2.4	2.0
Men	4.8	2.8	1.7
Women	4.5	2.1	2.1

Source: CDC 2007. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: 2006. Table 2.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_235.pdf

At a glance – Death Rate:

**Age-Adjusted Stroke Death Rates per 100,000 (2005)**
	African American	Non-Hispanic White	African American/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Men	70.5	44.8	1.6
Women	60.7	44.4	1.4

Source: CDC 2008. Health United States, 2008. Table 36.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf [PDF | 12.2MB]

Special Section – Stroke Related Disability

NHIS data from 2000-2001 was analyzed to examine stroke-related disability. Other races/ethnicities were excluded from the analysis due to the small sample size.

**Age-adjusted percentage of stroke survivors, aged 18 years and over who report difficulty in performing activities, 2000-2001**
Limitation of Activity	African Americans	Non-Hispanic White	African American/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Walk ¼ of a mile (3 city blocks)	45.1	36.5	1.2
Walk up 10 steps without resting	42.4	28.6	1.5
Stand or be on your feet for 2 hours	50.2	41.1	1.2
Sit for about 2 hours	16.4	10.7	1.5
Stoop, bend or kneel	44.8	37.7	1.2
Reach up over your head	21.6	14.7	1.5
Use your fingers to grasp or handle small objects	18.2	11.1	1.6
Lift or carry something as heavy as 10 pounds (e.g. grocery bag)	40.6	24.6	1.7
Push or pull large objects like a living room chair	45.2	32.5	1.4
Go out to things like shopping, movies, or sporting events	30.1	20.0	1.5
Participate in social activities like visiting friends	23.8	16.2	1.5
Do things to relax at home (reading, watching TV, sewing)	9.6	5.4	1.8

Source: CDC 2005. Differences in Disability Among Black and White Stroke Survivors – United States, 2000-2001. MMWR 54(1): 3-6.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5401a2.htm

At a Glance – Risk Factors:

Overweight

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 20 years of age and over who are overweight or obese, 2003-2006. (Persons are considered overweight if they have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or greater.) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Men	71.6	71.8	1.0
Women	79.8	57.9	1.4

Source: CDC 2008. Health United States, 2008. Table 75.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf [PDF | 12.2MB]

Obesity

Age-adjusted percentage of overweight persons 20 years of age and over who are obese, 2003-2006. (Persons are considered obese if they have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater.) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Men	35.7	32.4	1.1
Women	53.4	31.6	1.7

Source: CDC 2008. Health United States, 2008. Table 74.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf [PDF | 12.2MB]

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who are obese, 2006. (Persons are considered obese if they have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater.) National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black /Non- Hispanic White Ratio
35.3	24.7	1.4

Source: CDC 2007. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: 2006. Table 31.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_235.pdf

Hypertension

**Age-adjusted percentage of persons 20 years of age and over who have high blood pressure or taking antihypertensive medication, 2003-2006. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)**
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	26.5	17.4	1.5
Women	23.9	15.9	1.5

Source: CDC 2008. Health United States, 2008. Table 71.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf [PDF | 12.2MB]

**Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who have high blood pressure, 2006. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)**
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black /Non-Hispanic White Ratio
31.6	22.4	1.4

Source: CDC 2007. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: 2006. Table 2.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_235.pdf

**Percent of adults age 18 and over with hypertension whose blood pressure is under control, 1999-2004**
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
29.2	33.1	0.9

Source: 2007 National Healthcare Disparities Report. Table 59.
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr07/index.html

High Cholesterol

**Age-adjusted percentage of persons 20 years of age and over who have high cholesterol, 2003-2006.**
	African American	Non-Hispanic White	African American/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Men	10.9	15.5	0.7
Women	13.3	18.0	0.7

Source: CDC 2008. Health United States, 2008. Table 72.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf [PDF | 12.2MB]

Cigarette Smoking

**Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who are current cigarette smokers, 2004 - 2006.**
	African Americans	White	African Americans/White Ratio
Men	25.5	24.3	1.0
Women	17.6	20.9	0.8

Source: CDC 2008. Health United States, 2008. Table 65.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf [PDF | 12.2MB]

**Percentage of current smokers age 18 and over with a checkup who reported receiving advice to quit smoking, 2004**
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
62.5	64.8	1.0

Source: 2007 National Healthcare Quality Report. Table 1.41a.
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhqr07/index.html

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Content Last Modified: 3/31/2009 2:33:00 PM