DECREASE OF CARDIOVASCULAR MORTALITY IN S PAIN AND ITS AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES (1975-1992)

BACKGROUND: Given the great relevancy of the cardiovascular diseases, were analyzed the cardiovascular mortality in the Spanish autonomous c ommunities and its trend during the period 1975-1992, to identify comm unities with a high death risk by these diseases and to as certain the underlying factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The mortality rates standar dized by age are calculated for the diseases of the circulatory system (DCS), ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and cerebrovascular disease (CVD ). The mortality trend has been quantified through the percentual chan ge annual means, using a log-lineal model. RESULTS: The Communities of Valencia, Extremadura, Andalusia and Murcia show the highest cardiova scular diseases mortality rates while the Communities of Madrid, Navar ra, Castilla and Leon and Aragon present the most decreases. In all th e communities a decrease of the mortality by DCS has ocurred, that ran ges from a percentual decrease annual means higher than 3% in Navarre (-3.7%) and Madrid (-3.4%) to values that they do not reach to the 2% of decrease in Murcia (-1.8%) and Balearic Islands (-1.9%), In males a s well as in females, the mortality by IHD and CVD falls in all the co mmunities in the period 1975-1992, though the decrease is much greater for CVD, CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates a consistent fall of th e cardiovascular mortality in all the Spanish autonomous communities a nd some considerable differences in the level and in the trends of the magnitude mortality among these communities during all the studied pe riod.