Incident cognitive impairment is elevated in the stroke belt
Disparities in stroke incidence contributing to disparities in stroke mortality
Development and validation of a self-assessment tool for albuminuria
Full listing of Publications
Welcome to the REGARDS Study
+ Larger Text | + Smaller TextMeet The Sepsis Belt - REGARDS Data in use for New Researh
The REGARDS data is currently in use for new research on sepsis being done by Henry Wang, MD,an emergency physician at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Sepsis, sometimes called blood poisoning, is a severe illness in which the bloodstream is overwhelmed by bacteria. According to Wang's findings, the death rate for sepsis is much higher in one geographic region of the United States, that region being the Stroke Belt.
REGARDS made national news on July 4, 2011 with a feature in the New York Times. The article is below.
In the ‘Stroke Belt,’ Erosion of Memory Is More Likely Too
By Pam Belluck (The New York Times) - People in a large area of the American South have long been known to have more strokes and to be more likely to die from them than people living elsewhere in the country.
Now, a large national study suggests the so-called stroke belt may have another troubling health distinction. Researchers have found that Southerners there also are more likely to experience a decline in cognitive ability over several years — specifically, problems with memory and orientation.
Cognitive decline is higher in Southern Stroke Belt
People who live in the Stroke Belt are more likely to develop cognitive decline, according to new data from a long-running University of Alabama at Birmingham study. It’s hoped that linking cognitive decline to stroke-risk factors could lead to stroke prevention.People living in this eight-state region, defined by a risk of stroke death higher than in the rest of the nation, are at 18 percent higher risk of developing incident cognitive impairment, which includes failing memory and processing thoughts more slowly, says the study author in the May 27, 2011, online issue of the Annals of Neurology, the official journal of the American Neurological Association
Eating Less Healthy Fish May Contribute to America's Stroke Belt
ST. PAUL, Minn. –People living in the “stroke belt” states eat more fried fish than people living in the rest of the country, which may contribute to the high rate of death from stroke in those states, according to a study published in the December 22, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Studies have shown that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish, especially fatty fish, may reduce the risk of stroke. Research has shown that frying fish leads to the loss of the natural fatty acids.
The American Heart Association reports that 700,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke each year. About 150,000 of these people die of their stroke. These numbers are a "guess" based on studies that did not include many African Americans. THis is why the REGARDS study has about half African Americans and half Whites. We hope that our results will help us learn why the risk of stroke is different for people of different races. Because this is such an important study, we have included people from all over the nation and both races to help us understand stroke risk.