Lifestyle and the Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction in a Gulf Arab Population

Background Recent statistics indicate that acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is becoming very common in the State of Bahrain. A population-based case-control study was carried out to explore the importance of lifestyle in the occurrence of AMI in Bahrain among those aged 30–79 years. Methods Seventy...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of epidemiology 1994-10, Vol.23 (5), p.931-939
Main Authors: AL-ROOMI, KHALDOON A, MUSAIGER, ABDULRAHMAN O, AL-AWADI, ABDUL-HAI
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Bahrain - epidemiology
Biological and medical sciences
Cardiology. Vascular system
Case-Control Studies
Coronary heart disease
Diabetes Complications
Diet
Exercise
Female
Heart
Humans
Hypertension - complications
Life Style
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Myocardial Infarction - epidemiology
Myocardial Infarction - etiology
Risk Factors
Smoking - adverse effects
Tropical medicine
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background Recent statistics indicate that acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is becoming very common in the State of Bahrain. A population-based case-control study was carried out to explore the importance of lifestyle in the occurrence of AMI in Bahrain among those aged 30–79 years. Methods Seventy consecutive cases with a first episode of AMI were identified from a register, which included all hospital admissions, during the period 1 February 1992 to 31 July 1992, and compared with 516 subjects obtained from a random sample of the same community. Multiple logistic regression was used to control for demographic variables as well as for the mutual confounding effects of the investigated risk factors. Results Of the patients with first-time AMI, 64% did not walk regularly for exercise compared with 34% of community controls (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 3.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] :1.24–5.15). In all, 12% of community controls has a history of hypertension and 9% had diabetes. The comparative figures for AMI patients were 44% for hypertension (adjusted OR = 5.04, 95% CI: 2.82–9.00) and 22% for diabetes (adjusted OR = 3.28, CI: 1.73–6.20). Cigarette smoking and infrequent consumption of fruits and vegetables also appeared to be associated with an increased risk of AMI. Conclusions There is scope for lifestyle change in reducing AMI risk, by changes in physical activity, smoking and dietary habits. In addition, measures to control hypertension and diabetes should be given a high priority in any national health policy to prevent AMI.
ISSN:0300-5771
1464-3685
DOI:10.1093/ije/23.5.931