Traditional risk factors and socioeconomic factors account for only half of the racial disparity in stroke risk among middle-aged adults, highlighting the need to investigate other contributing factors.
Between ages 45 to 65 years, approximately half of the racial disparity in stroke risk is attributable to traditional risk factors (primarily systolic blood pressure) and socioeconomic factors, suggesting a critical need to understand the disparity in the development of these traditional risk factors. Because half of the excess stroke risk in blacks is not attributable to traditional risk factors and socioeconomic factors, differential impact of risk factors, residual confounding, or nontraditional risk factors may also play a role.
Howard et al. (2011) studied this question.