title: Relative importance of atherosclerotic risk factors for coronary heart disease in Taiwan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The relative importance of atherosclerotic risk factors, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes and smoking, was associated with cardiovascular events and varied among different ethnic groups. For a population with relatively low coronary heart disease (CHD) such as Asian-Pacific countries, it is crucial to differentiate the roles of these risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined the relative importance of various risk factors for CHD in a community-based cohort in Taiwan, consisting of 3602 adults aged 35 and older with a median follow-up time of 9.0 years since 1990. Regular death certificate verification and medical record reviews were performed in the follow-up activities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 85 cases defined as CHD. In the Cox proportional hazard analysis, men were at higher risk than women [hazard risk (HR)=2.22, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.39-3.56]. Hypertension was the most common risk factor for CHD. Dyslipidemia, especially lowered high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, also played an important role (HR=2.09, 95% CI=1.33-3.29) in CHD events. Hypertension had a greater influence in males (HR=6.08, P<0.001) than in females (HR=2.80, P<0.001). No independent association was found for smoking or body mass index in cardiovascular events.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study found that in a community-based cohort, hypertension, and dyslipidemia attribute an important role to cardiovascular events.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, China Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. klchien@ha.mc.ntu.edu.tw
authors.forename: Kuo-Liong
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Chien
authors.forename: Fung-Chang
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.forename: Hsiu-Ching
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Ta-Chen
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Wei-Deng
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Yuan-Teh
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012372:ROC Curve; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology