Myocardial Infarction and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Mexico City and San Antonio, Texas

Abstract

Because the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease in Mexico is largely unknown, we examined the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and myocardial infarction (MI) in adults from low-income colonias in Mexico City. Data were collected as part of the Mexico City Diabetes Study, a population-based survey of diabetes and cardiovascular disease conducted between 1987 and 1992. Results were compared with those obtained from a comparable survey conducted previously among low-income Mexican Americans in San Antonio, Tex. A total of 2271 individuals between the ages of 35 and 64 years from Mexico City and 1143 adults of the same age range from San Antonio were studied. Despite being leaner and having lower levels of total cholesterol, Mexicans in Mexico City had markedly higher levels of triglycerides (P < .001) and lower levels of HDL cholesterol (P < .001) than Mexican Americans in San Antonio. MI was assessed by Minnesota-coded electrocardiograms and by a self-reported history of physician-diagnosed heart attack. In men, the prevalence of self-reported heart attack was significantly higher in San Antonio than in Mexico City (odds ratio, 5.85; P < .001), and in women, the prevalence of electrocardiogram-documented MI was significantly higher in San Antonio than Mexico City (odds ratio, 2.51; P < .001). The apparent excess of MI in San Antonio relative to Mexico City could be due to higher case-fatality in Mexico City or to a higher incidence in San Antonio.