William Atkins
Monday, 23 February 2009 19:26
Science -
Health
Page 1 of 3
A team of University of Michigan researchers found that the closer you live to fast-food joints, the higher your risk for strokes. Maybe it’s time to move from French Fry Lane!
U.S. epidemiologist
Lewis B. Morgenstern, director of the Stroke Program at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and professor of Neurology Emergency Medicine and Neurosurgery, led the study that researched neighborhoods in Nueces County, Texas (United States).
The UM team gathered and analyzed their data based on the ongoing study called Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (
BASIC).
The researchers collected data on stroke victims between the years of 2000 and 2003. In all, 1,247 ischemic strokes (those from blood clots) occurred in Nueces County between 2000 and June 2003.
In addition, they located 262 fast-food establishments within the Texas county.
Fast-food joints were defined within the study as the group of restaurants with two or more of the following features: limited wait staff, faster-than-normal service, takeout business, and payment before eating.
After adjusting for socioeconomic status and demographics (such as age, race, ethnicity, gender), the researchers found a statistically significant correlation between the number of strokes in a neighborhood and the number of fast-food joints in that same neighborhood.
Page two continues with the results of the study.
