Ontario has about 9.1 million people of European descent and over 1.8 million people of South Asian, Chinese or Black descent. Even as they share the same home province, they are at different risks for cardiovascular disease.

A recent research study reported in CMAJ (the Canadian Medical Association Journal) that these four major ethnic groups are exposed to distinct cardiovascular disease risks. Based on data from Statistics Canada, diabetes and hypertension (major risk factors for cardiovascular disease) are disproportionately more common among people of South Asian and Black ethnicities. For those of white ethnicity, smoking and obesity were significantly more common risk factors. Obesity was also very common among Black women. Physical inactivity was most common among Chinese and South Asian respondents. Overall, South Asians had the highest rate of heart disease and stroke.

The study may be useful in understanding how programming might reduce the particular constellation of cardiovascular disease risks among ethnic groups. Recommendations include targeting diabetes and hypertension for high-risk South Asian and Black populations, promoting physical activity among South Asian and Chinese persons and Black women, and designing obesity-prevention for Black women and whites in general.

See “Comparison of Cardiovascular Risk Profiles among Ethnic Groups Using Population Health Surveys between 1996 and 2007,” Canadian Medical Association Journal (May 18, 2010; 182 [8]); first published April 19, 2010), at  www.cmaj.ca .

To read media reports on this study, see “Reasons for Heart Disease among Ethnicities More Than Skin Deep, Study Says,” Globe and Mail, April 19, 2010, at www.theglobeandmail.com, and “Cardiovascular Risks Vary by Ethnic Group,” Healthzone.ca, April 19, 2010, at www.healthzone.ca.