title: Prevalence of stroke/cardiovascular risk factors in rural Hungary--a cross-sectional descriptive study.
abstract: A multi-faceted survey was conducted in 1992-94 to ascertain the somatic, mental and socio-economic conditions of the residents of a village in eastern Hungary. Here we report data on prevalence of somatic disorders from the survey.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  a) To collect and compare prevalence of known cardiovascular disease, including stroke risk factors, in a specific population (a Hungarian village); b) to test a computer-based mass screening device ("Cerberus") designed to identify individuals in the test population at high risk for stroke; c) to compare results obtained with Cerberus with known stroke risk/cardiovascular disease factors and traditional medical records.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey (546 subjects) was conducted in Csengersima in the early 1990s, using the Cerberus screening system, which includes: 1. a questionnaire addressing the risk factors for stroke/cardiovascular disease; 2. amplifiers to record the pulse waves of cerebral (rheoencephalography) and peripheral arteries, electrocardiogram and electroencephalogram. Additionally, subjects were measured for carotid stenosis by Doppler ultrasound and 12-lead electrocardiogram; they were also screened for blood cholesterol, glucose, and triglyceride levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prevalence of the following stroke risk factors was identified: overweight, 63.25%; sclerotic brain arteries by rheoencephalogram, 54.29%; heart disease, 37.92%; pathologic carotid flow, 34.24%; smoking, 30.55%; high blood cholesterol, 28.70%; hypertension, 27.83%; high triglyceride, 24.35%; abnormality of electrocardiogram, 20%; high glucose, 15.95%; symptoms of transient ischemic attack, 16.07%; alcohol abuse, 6.74%; and diabetes, 4.53%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study demonstrates a possible model for primary cardiovascular disease/stroke prevention. The simple, noninvasive test uses the bioimpedance method of measurement. This method offers a standardizable, cost-effective, practical technique for mass screenings by identifying the population at high risk for cardiovascular disturbances, especially cerebrovascular disease. In this model, the rheoencephalogram can detect cerebrovascular arteriosclerosis in the susceptibility/presymptomatic phase, earlier than the Doppler ultrasound technique. The method also provides a model for storing analog physiological signals in a computer-based medical record and the first steps of turning it into an expert system also tested.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Works of Gedeon Richter Ltd, Budapest, Hungary. mikebodo@comcast.net
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bodo
authors.forename: György
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Thuróczy
authors.forename: Gyula
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pánczél
authors.forename: Kornél
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sipos
authors.forename: Lajos
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Iliás
authors.forename: Péter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Szonyi
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bodó
authors.forename: Tamás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nebella
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bányász
authors.forename: Zoltán
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Nagy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020521:Stroke / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler