Objectives: The objective of this study was to quantify trends (2008-2019) in stroke outcomes by race-ethnicity.
Methods: Patients with ischemic stroke from a population-based study were interviewed at 90 days to assess outcomes. Linear regression with multiple imputation and inverse probability weighting was used to model trends.
Results: The median age was 66 years (n = 1,449); 61% were Mexican American (MA). QOL remained stable with no race-ethnic difference in trends (p for time*race-ethnicity interaction = 0.81). Neurologic outcomes improved for MA (p < 0.01) but not non-Hispanic White (NHW) persons with stroke (p = 0.23) with no race-ethnic difference in trends (p for interaction = 0.23). For functional outcomes, trends were stable and then improved in MA persons with stroke (p for interaction = 0.01), whereas trends were stable in NHW persons with stroke (p = 0.52). For cognitive outcomes, there was little change in NHW persons with stroke (p = 0.50); in MA persons with stroke, there was improvement followed by decline and then improvement (p = 0.03). No race-ethnic differences in trends in functional (p for interaction = 0.51) or cognitive (p for interaction = 0.21) outcomes were noted.
Discussion: Outcome improvements were noted in MA but not NHW persons with stroke; race-ethnic differences were not present in 2019. Understanding factors contributing to favorable trends in MA persons may be informative for improving outcomes in all persons.