Cardiovascular disease in African American and white physicians: the Meharry Cohort and Meharry-Hopkins Cohort Studies.
Differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD) were studied in a cohort of medical students from the classes of 1958-65 of Meharry Medical College (n = 435), all African Americans, and the classes of 1957-64 of Johns Hopkins University (n = 580), all white. At baseline, African Americans were older (27 vs. 24 years, p = 0.001), more likely to smoke (71 vs. 47 percent), had greater body mass index (24 vs. 23 kg/m), and had higher systolic blood pressure (120 vs. 116 mmHg). At follow-up (23-35 years later), African American physicians had higher CVD risk (RR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.3-2.41), higher incidence of coronary artery disease (1.4 times), and much higher case fatality (51.5 vs. 9.4 percent). Risk factor levels in youth can predict CVD events several years later; predictors may differ between racial groups. Best predictors were cigarette smoking, cholesterol, and paternal history in white physicians, and blood pressure in African American physicians.
Thomas
J
J
Meharry Cohort Study, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN 37208, USA.
Thomas
D J
DJ
Pearson
T
T
Klag
M
M
Mead
L
L
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010820:Physicians; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People