title: Symptoms of Raynaud's phenomenon in an inner-city African-American community: prevalence and self-reported cardiovascular comorbidity.
abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of symptoms and the morbidity associated with Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) among African Americans. A total of 2196 randomly selected residents of an inner-city community, in Baltimore, completed a health-assessment survey. Symptoms of RP consisted of cold sensitivity plus cold-induced white or blue digital color change. One third (n = 703) reported cold sensitivity and 14% (n = 308) reported digital color change; 84 residents with symptoms of RP were identified, yielding an overall prevalence rate of 3.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.0-4.6). RP was associated with poor or fair health status (odds ratio [OR] = 1.82, CI 1.18-2.81), heart disease (OR = 2.32, CI 1.39-3.87), and stroke (OR = 2.20, CI 1.17-4.15), after adjustment for age, gender, and physician-diagnosed arthritis. The prevalence of symptoms of RP in this African-American community is comparable to published reports from other populations. These community-based data suggest that identification of RP among African Americans should raise consideration of possible comorbidity, particularly cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Gelber
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Wigley
authors.forename: R Y
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Stallings
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Bone
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Baylor
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Zeger
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Levine
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015142:Baltimore / Q000453:epidemiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003080:Cold Temperature / Q000009:adverse effects; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D011928:Raynaud Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*