title: Greater incidence of hospitalized myocardial infarction among Mexican Americans than non-Hispanic whites. The Corpus Christi Heart Project, 1988-1992.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Since Mexican Americans have adverse patterns of risk factors for myocardial infarction relative to non-Hispanic whites, the incidence of myocardial infarction should be greater among Mexican Americans than among non-Hispanic whites. This expectation conflicts with reports generated from death certificate registries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data regarding myocardial infarction attacks and incident events were collected for a 4-year period in the Corpus Christi Heart Project, a population-based surveillance project for hospitalized coronary heart disease events. For both women and men, Mexican Americans experienced greater hospitalization rates for both attacks and incident events than non-Hispanic whites. Age-adjusted attack rate ratios comparing Mexican Americans with non-Hispanic whites were 1.59 (95% CI, 1.05 to 2.41) and 1.31 (95% CI, 1.18 to 1.45) among women and men, respectively. Corresponding incidence ratios were 1.52 (95% CI, 1.28 to 1.80) and 1.25 (95% CI, 1.10 to 1.42).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first report documenting greater incidence of hospitalized myocardial infarction among Mexican Americans than among non-Hispanic whites, a biologically plausible finding given the risk factor patterns observed in the Mexican-American population. Public health planners and clinicians should be aware of the importance of myocardial infarction as a health problem in the Mexican-American population. Culturally appropriate prevention strategies should be developed for and tested in Mexican-American populations.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Research Center, University of Texas Houston Health Science Center, School of Public Health 77225, USA.
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Goff
authors.forename: M Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Nichaman
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Ramsey
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Labarthe
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ortiz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D044465:White People