To examine differences in health characteristics and health behaviors between rural and non-rural stroke survivors in the USA.

Data were extracted from the 2017 and 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to compare prevalences of health characteristics (i.e., diabetes, disability, poor health, high cholesterol, hypertension, no health care coverage, weight status) and health behaviors (i.e., fruit consumption, vegetable consumption, physical inactivity, high alcohol consumption, smoking) among community-dwelling stroke survivors, stratified by rural status (i.e., rural vs. non-rural). Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for health characteristics and health behaviors to examine the association of rural status with each variable of interest (reference group=non-rural).

Data from 14,599 respondents (rural: n = 5,039; non-rural: n = 9,560) were available for analysis. The majority of respondents were female (61.4%), non-Hispanic white (83.2%), previously married (56.1%), had at least some college education (55.2%), and had an annual household income ≥USD $25,000 (56.9%). Prevalences of disability, poor health, weekly aerobic exercise, and smoking were higher among rural respondents compared to non-rural respondents. Logistic regression showed increased odds (odds ratio range: 1.1–1.2) for these variables among rural respondents; however, odds ratios were attenuated after controlling for sociodemographic and health characteristics.

We did not find evidence of differences in the investigated health characteristics and health behaviors between rural and non-rural community-dwelling stroke survivors in the USA. Additional research is needed to confirm these findings and to identify alternative sociodemographic and health factors that may differ between rural and non-rural community-dwelling stroke survivors.

研究美国农村和非农村中风幸存者之间健康特征和健康行为的差异。

数据取自 2017 年和 2019 年行为风险因素监测系统 (BRFSS)，以比较健康特征（即糖尿病、残疾、健康状况不佳、高胆固醇、高血压、无医疗保健覆盖、体重状况）和健康行为（即社区居住的中风幸存者中的水果消费、蔬菜消费、身体活动不足、酗酒、吸烟），按农村状况（即农村与非农村）分层。使用逻辑回归来计算健康特征和健康行为的比值比 (OR)，以检查农村状况与每个感兴趣变量（参考组=非农村）的关联。

来自 14,599 名受访者（农村：n = 5,039；非农村：n = 9,560）的数据可供分析。大多数受访者是女性（61.4%）、非西班牙裔白人（83.2%）、曾婚（56.1%）、至少受过大学教育（55.2%）、家庭年收入≥25,000美元（56.9%） ）。与非农村受访者相比，农村受访者的残疾、健康状况不佳、每周有氧运动和吸烟的患病率较高。Logistic 回归显示农村受访者中这些变量的优势增加（优势比范围：1.1-1.2）；然而，在控制了社会人口统计和健康特征后，优势比有所减弱。

我们没有发现美国农村和非农村社区居住的中风幸存者所调查的健康特征和健康行为存在差异的证据。需要进行更多研究来证实这些发现，并确定农村和非农村社区居住的中风幸存者之间可能存在差异的其他社会人口统计学和健康因素。