Analysis of all-cause mortality and coronary events in the Turkish Adult Risk Factor Survey 2005

OBJECTIVES
To analyze all-cause and coronary mortality as well as newly diagnosed coronary heart disease (CHD) in the cohort of the Turkish Adult Risk Factor Study which was surveyed in the summer of 2005 and included individuals residing essentially in the regions of Marmara and Central Anatolia.

STUDY DESIGN
Information on the mode of death was obtained from first-degree relatives and/or health personnel of local health offices. Diagnosis of coronary heart disease was based on history, physical examination, and 12-lead electrocardiograms. New coronary events were defined as those that developed after the last survey, including fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction, stable angina and/or myocardial ischemia.

RESULTS
Of 1646 participants, 1078 subjects (mean age 54.8±11.8 years) were examined; information alone was gathered for 507 subjects; 43 subjects (28 men, 15 women) had died, and 18 subjects were lost to follow-up. Incorporation of 3104 person-years of follow-up raised the total follow-up of the survey to 42,600 person-years. Twenty-three deaths were classified as CHD-related. New coronary events were identified in 37 participants. Annual mortality and coronary mortality rates were 13.9 and 7.4 per 1000 adults, respectively. Overall mortality per 1000 person-years was 16.3 in rural areas and 12.0 in urban areas. The high share of coronary deaths among all deaths persisted. In the age bracket of 45 to 74 years, overall mortality declined to 10.6 (p=0.09) and coronary mortality to 5.5 per 1000 person-years, thus supporting the presence of a consistently decreasing trend of all-cause mortality and coronary mortality. Estimated fatal and nonfatal new coronary events appeared to be high with 18 per 1000 person-years.

CONCLUSION
A rising trend persists in the incidence of coronary mortality and its share in overall mortality as well as in new coronary events. The occurrence of coronary deaths among women seems to be gradually shifting to older ages.