Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Symptoms of Raynaud’s Phenomenon in an Inner-City African-American Community

1999; Elsevier BV; Volume: 52; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0895-4356(99)00015-3

1878-5921

Allan C. Gelber, Fredrick M. Wigley, Rebecca Y. Stallings, Lee Bone, Anne Barker, Ingrid Baylor, Clyde Harris, Michael D. Hill, Scott L. Zeger, David M. Levine,

Dermatological and Skeletal Disorders

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.