REDUCTION OF CORONARY HEART-DISEASE RISK-FACTORS IN THE GERMAN CARDIOVASCULAR PREVENTION STUDY

Background. In six regions of former West Germany, a community-oriente d prevention program for coronary heart disease (CHD) was conducted ov er a 7-year period. Methods. In the intervention regions, CHD preventi on activities were performed with special emphasis on healthy nutritio n, increased physical activity, and reduction of smoking, hypertension , and hypercholesterolemia. The impact of these activities on CHD risk factor trends was observed in three independent samples of the interv ention regions. Three independent representative samples of the total West German population were used as a reference. Linear regression mod els with interaction terms to represent the intervention effects were used to test for differences in risk factor trends. Results. In the po oled intervention regions, a net reduction in mean values of systolic (-2.0%) and diastolic (-2.0%) blood pressure, total serum cholesterol (-1.8%), as well as the percentage of smokers (-6.7%) was observed com pared with the nationwide trend. From the major CHD risk factors, only body mass index was not influenced in the intervention population. Co nclusions. The community-oriented German Cardiovascular Prevention pro gram can effectively be used to reduce CHD risk factors in a broad pop ulation. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.