Treatment and recovery from stroke are worse for women and ‘racial minorities’: A large study of people with diabetes discovered that after a stroke, patients from racial minorities had a higher stroke severity, stayed in the hospital longer, and received less specialized care than their white counterparts.
The same statistics indicated that women who were non-white were more likely to die.
The University of Aberdeen study, coordinated by Professor Phyo Myint, Chair in Old Age Medicine at the University, examined data from the US National Inpatient Sample database.
The research team, which included colleagues from Keele University, examined data from 462,020 people with diabetes who were brought to hospital following a stroke.
The complete study is available in Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery.
“Race and gender disparities are important considerations in managing any long-term condition, as conditions may not only present differently between genders and ethnic groups, but may also warrant different management,” notes Professor Phyo Myint. Such distinctions may have significant consequences for disease prevention.
“While these differences have been described in people with diabetes, it was unclear to what extent these differences are also visible in diabetic patients who have had a stroke.” This is especially relevant because diabetes is a strong risk factor for stroke, and a considerable proportion of diabetes patients suffer from strokes as a result.
“It was thus critical to describe sex and racial differences in this patient group in order to inform clinicians so that they can provide targeted intervention and inform patients and their families about the prognosis.”
“These findings are significant not only in the context of the United States, but they may also have important clinical implications in the UK, given similar racial diversity.”
“Sex and ethnic differences are important in achieving health equity and are essential parts of any personalised treatment strategy,” said Dr Tiberiu Pana, who undertook the research as part of a clinical training program at the University. Such factors must so be integrated into any future study.”
“Our findings point to multifactorial underlying issues that may be influenced by lifestyle, socioeconomic, and genetic factors, as well as health behaviors and clinical management.”
“Further research should focus on the social determinants of health in order to identify modifiable risk factors.” Addressing the influence of race on health outcomes can lead to the development of treatments and policies that minimize inequities and promote equitable health outcomes for all persons.
“This project was carried out as part of a summer research scholarship awarded to third year medical student, Rosa Thuemmler, who first authored the paper,” Professor Myint continued. We are quite pleased of Rosa’s academic accomplishments, and we will continue to nourish future clinical academics through several research scholarship programs in the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences, and Nutrition.”