Posted on February 12, 2001 at 12:48 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — While stroke mortality rates continue to decline steadily for African Americans, the decline is not sufficient to make up for the 40 percent difference in rates between whites and blacks, according to a study by George Howard, Ph.D., chairman of the department of biostatistics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The study was presented today at the American Stroke Association’s 26th International Stroke Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

“Stroke mortality rates have declined rapidly over the past 30 years for both whites and blacks,” says Howard. “Now, it appears the decline has reached a plateau for whites. And although the rate for African Americans continues to fall sharply, it’s not enough to adjust for the difference in rates between the two populations.”

The study, which analyzed stroke mortality data from 1968 to 1996, also suggests changes in stroke mortality trends across geographic regions of the country. “States in the Deep South, Alabama and Mississippi, are falling from having the highest rates of stroke mortality and are being replaced by states on the west coast, specifically Oregon and Washington,” says Howard. “The reason is unclear.”

The study also found that southern Florida and New York City have among the lowest stroke mortality rates. “These are perhaps the most interesting regions we looked at in our study,” says Howard. “Both began with some of the lowest stroke mortality rates in the country and experienced some of the largest declines. Again, the reason is not clearly understood.”

States previously identified as the stroke “buckle” — North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia — continue to experience among the highest stroke mortality rates in the country. “These regions have experienced, at most, only slight declines in rates, and only moderately small declines are anticipated,” says Howard. “It appears these regions will persist in having relatively high stroke mortality rates.”

The study was funded by the Cardiovascular Health Data Unit of the North Carolina Division of Public Health in Raleigh, N.C.

Other researchers who collaborated on the study are Virginia Howard, M.S.P.H., with the department of international health and epidemiology at UAB; Charles Katholi, Ph.D., with the department of biostatistics at UAB; Madan Oli, Ph.D., with the department of wildlife ecology and conservation at the University of Florida in Gainesville; and Sara Huston, Ph.D., with the Cardiovascular Health Data Unit of the North Carolina Division of Public Health.