Volume 22, Number 3—March 2016
Dispatch
Lyme Disease in Hispanics, United States, 2000–2013
, J. Andrew Starr, Kiersten J. Kugeler, and Paul S. Mead
Table 1
Demographic and clinical characteristics of Hispanics and non-Hispanics with LD, United States, 2000–2013*
| Characteristic | Hispanic, n = 5,473 | Non-Hispanic, n = 142,971 | RR (95% CI) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male sex† | 2,982 (54.8) | 78,417 (55.0) | 1.00 (0.97–1.02) | |
| Median age, y (IQR) |
32 (15–46) |
42 (16–58) |
0.0001‡ |
|
| Disease onset | ||||
| Total with known date of disease onset | 3,826 (69.9) | 116,600 (82.6) | – | |
| Summer months, Jun-Aug | 2,170 (56.7) | 77,548 (66.5) | 0.85 (0.83–0.88) | |
| Fall months, Sep–Nov |
637 (16.7) |
16,821 (14.4) |
1.15 (1.07–1.24) |
|
| Clinical features | ||||
| Total with information on clinical features | 2,696 (49.3) | 90,180 (63.1) | – | |
| Erythema migrans | 1,605 (59.5) | 64,660 (71.7) | 0.83 (0.80–0.86) | |
| Arthritis | 854 (31.7) | 25,647 (28.4) | 1.11 (1.05–1.18) | |
| Facial palsy | 391 (14.5) | 7,529 (8.4) | 1.74 (1.58–1.91) | |
| Atrioventricular block | 36 (1.3) | 952 (1.1) | 1.26 (0.91–1.76) | |
| Meningitis |
36 (1.3) |
1,026 (1.1) |
1.17 (0.84–1.63) |
|
| Residence in high-incidence state§ | 4,937 (90.2) | 130,305 (91.1) | 0.90 (0.82–0.98) |
*Values are no. (%) unless otherwise indicated. Statistically significant differences between the comparison groups are in bold. IQR, interquartile range; LD, Lyme disease; RR, risk ratio.
†Percentage of persons with LD for whom sex is known (n = 5,442 Hispanics, n = 142,625 non-Hispanics).
‡The substantial difference in median age between the US Hispanic population (27 y) and the US non-Hispanic population (42 y) most likely accounts for the difference seen here.
§Defined as 1 of the 13 highest-incidence states that accounted for 95% of all reported confirmed cases of LD in 2010: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.