The incidence rate of stroke is twice as high in black people than in white people, say researchers in this week's BMJ. Dr Judith Stewart and colleagues from Guy's, King's College and St Thomas's School of Medicine found that in their study of 234,533 people in south London, the incidence of stroke in the black population (who accounted for 21 per cent of the total population) was both higher and occured at a younger age.

The authors found that this phenomenon was not explained by confounders such as social class, age or sex and they conclude that ethnic differences in genetic, physiological and behavioural risk factors for stroke should be investigated further. They say that this information could then provide the basis for effective strategies for stoke prevention in multi-ethnic communities.

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Contact: Jill Shepherd
jshepherd@bma.org.uk
44-171-383-6529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
9-Apr-1999