title: Black-white differences in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy: the Washington DC dilated Cardiomyopathy Study.
abstract: We conducted an epidemiologic study to examine the extent to which differences in purported risk factors account for black-white differences in risk of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. We examined associations with race and other factors by comparing newly diagnosed cases (N = 122), ascertained from five Washington DC area hospitals, with neighborhood controls (N = 234) identified using a random digit dialing technique. We matched the cases and controls on sex and 5-year age intervals and analyzed the data using conditional logistic regression methods. We found that blacks were at increased risk for idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (relative odds = 2.6, 95% confidence interval = 1.6-4.3). The increased risk for blacks could not be explained by income, educational attainment, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, or history of hypertension, obesity, diabetes, or asthma. We also observed a possible interactive effect between black race and hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Coughlin
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Labenberg
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Tefft
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000208:ethnology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004219:District of Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American