Generational and regional differences in trends of mortality from ischemicheart disease in Japan from 1969 to 1992

The authors compared generational and regional trends of premature mortalit y from ischemic heart disease (IHD) from 1969 to 1992 for persons aged 30-6 9 years. They selected Tokyo and Osaka prefectures as the most urbanized an d compared them with the rest of Japan. The data were divided into two peri ods: period I (1969-1978, international Classification of Diseases, Eight R evision) and period 11 (1979-1992, International Classification of Diseases , Ninth Revision). In both populations, IHD mortality decreased for both se xes, but mortality from nonspecific heart disease remained constant in men and decreased in women. in Tokyo and Osaka prefectures, the percentage decl ine per year in IHD mortality for both sexes was significantly smaller in p eriod II than in period I. However, in the rest of Japan, it did not decrea se for either sex. Age-specific analysis showed that the percentage decline per year in period II was smallest for the group aged 30-49 years (men, 0. 05%; women, 0.76%) in Tokyo and Osaka prefectures, while it was similar for all age groups in the rest of Japan. For men, the IHD mortality rate in 19 91-1992 for those aged 30-49 years was higher in Tokyo and Osaka prefecture s (9.4/100,000) than in the rest of Japan (5.4/100,000).