Abstract T P132: Rapid loss of the Mexican American Survival Advantage After Stroke--The BASIC Study
Background/Objective: As a primary, pre-specified objective of the population-based Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) project we studied trends in mortality following ischemic stroke among Mexican Americans (MAs) and non Hispanic whites (NHWs). MAs were previously found to have lower mortality following stroke than NHWs. Methods: We performed active and passive surveillance, and using source documentation, validated all ischemic stroke cases from January, 2000-December, 2010. Deaths were ascertained from the Texas Department of Health through December 31, 2011. Cumulative 30 day and 1 year mortality adjusted for covariates was estimated using log-binomial models with a linear term for year of stroke onset used to model time trends. Pre-specified adjustment factors were: age, sex, prior stroke or TIA, atrial fibrillation, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, smoking, high cholesterol and stroke severity. Models used data from the entire study period to estimate adjusted mortality among stroke cases in 2000 and 2010, and to calculate projected ethnic differences. Results: There were 1,822 ischemic strokes among NHWs and 2,211 among MAs. Between 2000 and 2010, 30 day and 1 year mortality declined among NHWs, from 8.6% to 5.9% (p=0.14), and 21.7% to 17.0% (p=0.06), respectively. Among MAs, 30 day mortality remained stagnant at 5.6% (p=0.98), and a slight decline from 18.3% to 16.4% was observed for 1 year mortality (p=0.41). While, the ethnic differences in 30 day (p=0.01) and 1 year (p=0.07) mortality were robust in 2000, they were not so in 2010 (30 day, p=0.76; 1 year p=0.78). See figure. MAs are projected to have higher post-stroke mortality by 2022. Conclusions: Overall, mortality following ischemic stroke has declined in the last decade. However, the survival advantage previously documented among MAs vanished by 2010. Further, faster declines in mortality among NHWs than MAs imply a reversal of the survival advantage by approximately 2022.