Open AccessTRENDS IN CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS IN AUSTRALIA, 1966–1983: EVIDENCE FROM PREVALENCE SURVEYS
Author(s) -
Dobson Annette J.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
community health studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 0314-9021
DOI - 10.1111/j.1753-6405.1987.tb00125.x
Subject(s) - medicine , blood pressure , ischaemic heart disease , demography , risk factor , cigarette smoking , diastole , epidemiology , sociology
A review of published data from cardiovascular risk factor surveys among adults in Australia from 1966 to 1983 suggests that: — prevalence of cigarette smoking decreased significantly by up to 1.4 per cent per year among men but increased among younger women; — serum cholesterol mean levels decreased significantly by 0.03 ‐ 0.04 mmol/1 per year among men and 0.04 ‐ 0.07 mmol/1 per year among women; — systolic blood pressure mean levels decreased significantly by 0.05 ‐ 0.3 mmHg per year among men and 0.2 ‐ 0.6 mmHg per year among women; — diastolic blood pressure showed no significant or consistent changes among men but some decrease among women. During the same period death rates from ischaemic heart disease (IHD) declined by over 40 per cent. The changes in risk factor levels are estimated to account for about half of the decline in IHD mortality for men and about three quarters of the decline for women.