Stroke in American Indians and Alaska Natives: A Systematic Review

Am J Public Health. 2015 Aug;105(8):e16-26. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302698. Epub 2015 Jun 11.

Abstract

We conducted a systematic review of published studies on stroke epidemiology in American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs). We used MeSH terms and strict inclusion criteria to search PubMed, identifying a relevant sample of 57 refereed publications. We report a consensus view in which prevalent stroke is more common, and estimates of cerebrovascular risk factors are higher, among AI/ANs than among other US populations. Like other minority groups, AI/ANs suffer stroke at younger ages than do non-Hispanic Whites. However, data on AI/AN stroke mortality are significantly compromised by racial misclassification and nonrepresentative sampling. Studies correcting for these problems have found that stroke mortality rates among AI/ANs are among the highest of all US racial and ethnic groups. As with Black and non-Hispanic White stroke mortality, AI/AN stroke mortality varies by geographic region, with the highest rates in Alaska and the Northwest and the lowest in the Southwest. Our results underscore the need for a concerted national effort to collect accurate cross-sectional and longitudinal data on stroke in AI/ANs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Review
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Alaska / epidemiology
  • Canada / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Indians, North American / statistics & numerical data*
  • Male
  • Prevalence
  • Risk Factors
  • Stroke / epidemiology*
  • Stroke / ethnology
  • Stroke / mortality
  • United States / epidemiology