Incidence of acute myocardial infarction in Kaunas (Lithuania) middle-aged population during the past ten years: has it increased?

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate the trends in incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Kaunas population aged 25-64 years during 1998 to 2008. Methods: The source of the data is the Kaunas population-based ischemic heart disease (IHD) register. The methods used for the data collection were those applied by the WHO MONICA project. The object all permanent residents of Kaunas aged 25-64 years who had AMI and died from IHD in 1998-2008. The age-standardized rates were calculated by the direct method and using the Segi’s world population as a standard. Trends were analyzed using the method of linear regression on logarithms of the age-standardized annual rates. Results: According to the data of IHD register, among Kaunas men aged 25-64 years the average incidence rate of AMI was 285.8, among women 78.8/100,000 persons in 1998-2008. The biggest AMI incidence rate among men was in 2003 and accounted 346.9/100,000 men, for women in 2005 and was 96.2/100,000 women. The lowest incidence rate of AMI among men was in 1999 and 2001 years and accounted 223.5/100,000 men, for women in 1998 and was 59.3/100,000 women. From 1998 to 2008 the AMI incidence rate among both Kaunas men and women significantly increased in averaged by 3.4% per year (p=0.02) and by 3.4% per year (p=0.008), respectively. Conclusions. The incidence of AMI during the past ten years significantly increased among both middle-aged Kaunas men and women.