Heart risks similar for blacks and whites

NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) When it comes to the likelihood of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD), the factors that increase that risk are similar for blacks and whites although small differences exist according to a new report.

''To our knowledge, this is the first black-white comparison study conducted exclusively in an employed population,'' note Dr Mercedes R Carnethon and colleagues from Northwestern University in Chicago in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

''By studying an employed cohort, we were able to better account for socioeconomic differences between race groups compared with previous studies,'' the researchers explain.

Their analysis involved 3741 black and 33,246 white men and women who were enrolled in the Chicago Heart Association Detection Project in Industry study. The subjects were between 18 and 64 years of age and had not had a heart attack when they joined the study in 1967-1973.

They were followed through 2002. A total of 107 black women, 1586 white women, 177 black men, and 2866 white men died from cardiovascular causes during follow-up.

In general, the magnitude of the association between CVD death and traditional risk factors, such as smoking and diabetes, was comparable for the two racial groups.

Notable exceptions included a higher risk of CVD death with increasing blood pressure for white women compared with black women, and with high cholesterol in white men but not black men.

''This investigation provides evidence that the association between traditional risk factors and CVD mortality is generally similar in black and white men and women,'' the researchers conclude.

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