Cardio disease citation--as promised, was Gofman

[NiagaraNet@AOL.COM]

Dear Radsafers: 


Here is a letter that I requested from the epidemiologist that was a part of the number crunching for the WNY/Niagara cardio stats. Please credit the Research Center for Stroke & Heart Disease of The Jacobs Neurological Institute as the source of this information when referencing it. The data set, as described, can be released to approved researchers. 


So, I guess we don't have to believe a US Senator, a Mayo trained cardiologist,

a hospital president, or me  :*)


I hope this helps to validate some of what I have posted. Further research is being reviewed and more is anticipated.

Regards,

L.H. Ricciuti

NiagaraNet@aol.com

"We're not here for a good time, nor for a long time."

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Subj:   The information you requested   

Date:   6/6/2003 5:29:54 PM Eastern Standard Time   

From:   SKSmith@KaleidaHealth.Org   

To: niagaranet@aol.com  

File:   Mort&Hospbyregion,countyTABLES.xls (20992 bytes) DL Time (26400 bps): < 1 minute      

Sent from the Internet (Details)    


L.H. Ricciuti, 


The Research Center for Stroke & Heart Disease of The Jacobs Neurological Institute at Kaleida Health (Buffalo General Hospital) collects raw data files from several sources in order to sort and analyze them in an effort to present epidemiological profiles of stroke and heart disease for Western New York (WNY) and other regions of New York State (NYS). Sources of data include: the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) at the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) for hospitalization data and the Vital Statistics System at the NYSDOH for mortality data. There are also others, but the data I will discuss below are from the aforementioned sources. 


In the year 2000, Niagara County, New York had the greatest number of hospitalizations (a measure of prevalence) of any county in the entire state, be it Upstate or Downstate New York. Niagara County had 443.947 per 100,000 population cases of hospitalized cerebrovascular disease and 1008.433 per 100,000 population cases of hospitalized cardiovascular disease-- these rates are 48% and 73% higher than the state aggregate rate, respectively (these rates are crude morbidity rates). In some cases, Niagara County residents experienced nearly five times as many hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease than residents of other areas of NYS. WNY as a region has the worst rate of both cerebrovascular disease hospitalizations and cardiovascular disease hospitalizations of any other region of NYS. These raw data are from SPARCS at the NYSDOH. This is NY State's best source of hospitalization data which we can analyze in several ways including by ICD code. As I mentioned earlier on the phone, these raw datasets are available to hospitals within NYS and upon request, if approved, to other researchers. 


As far as mortality, Niagara County fares the worst with regard to cardiovascular disease mortality when compared to all other WNY counties as well as the aggregate state and national rates of mortality (Year 2000 as well). The Niagara County rate of cardiovascular disease mortality is 27% higher than the aggregate state rate. And, WNY itself fares worse than any other region of NY State, and the US as a whole, with regard to cardiovascular disease mortality. Niagara County has the fifth highest rate of cardiovascular disease mortality of all 62 counties in NYS. The raw data we analyzed here are from the Vital Statistics System out of the NYSDOH.


So, as you know, the numbers strongly support the argument that Niagara County has extraordinarily high rates of heart disease and stroke, in fact, in many cases, the worst rates in the whole state. The WNY region, almost across the board, has the highest rates of stroke and heart disease mortality and morbidity of all regions of the entire state as well.


I will attach a Word document with crude death and morbidity rates of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease rates for NYS regions and counties (the file has two worksheets in it with labeled tabs). I hope this gives you quite a bit to work with. There are many, many ways to present and make comparisons with these data. Please credit the Research Center for Stroke & Heart Disease of The Jacobs Neurological Institute as the source of this information when referencing it. And, kindly send me anything that you do produce. I would love to see it. My contact info is below. 


* Note: I use the terms stroke and cerebrovascular disease interchangeably and I use the terms heart disease and cardiovascular disease interchangeably. 


Shannon Smith 


<<Mort & Hosp by region, county TABLES.xls>> 


Shannon K. Smith, M.S. 

Director of Research 

Research Center for Stroke & Heart Disease 

The Jacobs Neurological Institute 

100 High Street, Suite C319 

Buffalo, New York 14203 

Phone: (716) 859-3328, Fax: (716) 859-3324 

__

Once I've looked at the spread sheet that was sent to me as an attachment, I'd be happy to pass it along to those that would wish to see it. I will need a week to peruse it myself, so any time after that, a request would be welcomed.

LHR

Time 21:12