Risk of hemorrhagic stroke in Asian American ethnic groups

Abstract

The sparseness of prospective data about hemorrhagic stroke (HS) risk among Asian American ethnic groups led to the investigation of 128,934 persons with self-classified ethnicity at health examinations in 1978-1985. Subsequently, 431 persons were hospitalized for HS; 31% for subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and 69% for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Ethnic predictors of HS were studied by Cox proportional hazard models with 7 covariates. With whites as reference, the adjusted relative risk (95% CI) of all Asians for HS was 1.6 (1.1-2.3, p = 0.01), due substantially to increased risks of SAH in Japanese people and ICH in Filipinos. These data mandate emphasis upon preventive measures in these groups.