Smoking Tied to Dose-Dependent Increase in Stroke Risk Among Blacks

Cigarette smoking appears to be associated with a dose-dependent increase in the risk of all-cause-stroke among black people, according to new findings published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The authors of the study concluded that smoking cessation may help reduce the incidence of stroke in black people, who are disproportionately impacted by stroke compared with white people.

Researchers arrived at their conclusion after evaluating 4410 Jackson Heart Study participants without history of stroke. Participants were categorized by self-reported smoking status at baseline (2000 to 2004). Categories included current, past (smoked at least 400 cigarettes throughout their lives), or never smokers. Current smokers were further categorized based on smoking intensity (smoking 1 to 19 cigarettes per day, or at least 20 per day) and were followed through 2015 for incident stroke.

Following adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, the results of the study indicated that current smokers had a significantly higher risk of stroke compared with never smokers, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.48. However, no significant difference in stroke risk was observed between past smokers and never smokers (HR 1.10).

Smoking intensity was associated with a dose-dependent increased risk of stroke, with HRs of 2.28 for smoking 1 to 19 cigarettes per day, and 2.78 for smoking at least 20 cigarettes per day.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:
Oshunbade AA, Yimer WK, Valle KA, et al. Cigarette smoking and incident stroke in blacks of the Jackson Heart Study. J Am Heart Assoc. Published online June 10, 2020. doi:10.1161/JAHA.119.014990