Researchers have identified genetic variants that may help explain the elevated stroke risk in blacks. The findings could help doctors better understand stroke risk and identify those at high risk to prevent the debilitating condition, they say.
Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide and is the leading cause of adult disability in the United States. African Americans are two to three times more likely to die from stroke than European Americans. While genes appear to play a significant role in stroke risk, most genetic stroke studies have focused on people of European descent. The current study represents the largest analysis of stroke-risk genes ever undertaken in individuals of African descent. The analysis was part of the Consortium of Minority Population genome-wide Association Studies of Stroke (COMPASS) and includes participants from several NHLBI study cohorts, including Jackson Heart Study.
The study examined the genomes of more than 22,000 people of African ancestry, including the genomes of 3,734 blacks who had suffered strokes and more than 18,000 who did not. The researchers identified a common gene variant near the HNF1A gene that was strongly associated with increased stroke risk in those of African ancestry. They also identified 29 other variants that appear likely to influence stroke risk. The study, funded in part by the NHLBI, appeared in the journal Stroke.