Experiencing Racism May Increase Stroke Risk in Black Women

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 15, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Black women reporting having experienced interpersonal racism may have higher risk for having a stroke, according to a study published online Nov. 10 in JAMA Network Open.

Shanshan Sheehy, Sc.D., from the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University, and colleagues examined the association of perceived interpersonal racism with incident stroke among U.S. Black women. The analysis included 48,375 participants in the Black Women's Health Study with follow-up from 1997 through 2019.

The researchers identified 1,664 incident stroke cases, of which 550 were definite cases confirmed by neurologist review and/or National Death Index linkage. For those reporting experiences of racism in all three domains of employment, housing, and interactions with police, there was a 38 percent increase in incident stroke (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.14 to 1.67) and a 37 percent increase in definite cases (95 percent CI, 1.00 to 1.88) compared with that seen in women with no such racism experiences. A similar trend was seen for comparisons of women in the highest quartile of the everyday interpersonal racism score versus those in the lowest quartile (hazard ratio, 1.14 [95 percent CI, 0.97 to 1.35] for all incident stroke; hazard ratio, 1.09 [95 percent CI, 0.83 to 1.45] for definite cases).

"It is possible that the high burden of racism experienced by Black U.S. individuals may contribute to racial disparities in stroke incidence," the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to Qmetis.

Abstract/Full Text