Longevity of Parents and Grandparents in Relation to Coronary Heart Disease and Associated Variables

Abstract

This paper is based upon an analysis of data from a prospective epidemiological study in which a large number of men and women were traced for six years after they answered a detailed questionnaire. The subjects were divided into seven groups according to the longevity of their parents and grandparents. Death rates from coronary heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, and stroke were found to be considerably higher among subjects with short-lived parents than among subjects with long-lived parents. This was found to be the case for coronary heart disease among men without a history of high blood pressure or diabetes, who were not seriously overweight, who took some exersise, and who never smoked cigarettes regularly.