Mortality from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in Europe and other areas of the world: an update
Received 17 September 2008; accepted 10 December 2008.
Objective
To update trends in mortality from coronary heart diseases (CHD) and cerebrovascular diseases (CVD) over the period 1981–2004 in Europe, the USA, Latin America, Japan and other selected areas of the world.
Methods
Age-standardized mortality rates were derived from the World Health Organization database. Joinpoint analysis was used to identify significant changes in trends.
Results
In the European Union (27 countries), CHD mortality in men declined from 139/100000 in 1985–1989 to 93/100000 in 2000–2004 (-33%). In women, the fall was from 61/100000 to 44/100000 (-27%). In this area, a decline by over 30% was also registered in CVD mortality for both sexes. In the Russian Federation and other countries of the former Soviet Union, CHD rates in 2000–2004 were exceedingly high, around 380/100000 men and 170/100000 women in Russia, 430 for men and 240 for women in Ukraine, 420 and 200 in Belarus. For CVD, a similar situation was registered, with mortality rates of 226/100000 for men and 159/100000 for women in 2004 in the Russian Federation, and more than 24% increase since the late 1980s for men and 15% for women. CHD and CVD mortality continued to decline in most Latin American countries, Australia and other areas considered, including Asia (even if with marked differences).
Conclusion
Although mortality from CHD and CVD continues to decline in several areas of the world including most countries of Europe and of the America providing data and Australia, unfavourable trends were still observed in the Russian Federation and other countries of the former Soviet Union, whose recent rates remain exceedingly high.
aUnité d'Épidémiologie du Cancer and Registres Vaudois et Neuchâtelois des Tumeurs, Institut de Médecine Sociale et Préventive, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois et Faculté de Biologie et Médecine, Falaises 1, Lausanne, Switzerland
bIstituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche ‘Mario Negri’, Via La Masa 19
cIstituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria ‘G.A. Maccacaro’, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Via Venezian 1, Milano, Italy
ABSTRACT