title: Evolution of Cardiovascular Diseases Mortality in the Counties of the State of Rio de Janeiro from 1979 to 2010.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death in Brazil.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To estimate total CVD, cerebrovascular disease (CBVD), and ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality rates in adults in the counties of the state of Rio de Janeiro (SRJ), from 1979 to 2010.
  
  
  METHODS
  The counties of the SRJ were analysed according to their denominations stablished by the geopolitical structure of 1950, Each new county that have since been created, splitting from their original county, was grouped according to their former origin. Population Data were obtained from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), and data on deaths were obtained from DataSus/MS. Mean CVD, CBVD, and IHD mortality rates were estimated, compensated for deaths from ill-defined causes, and adjusted for age and sex using the direct method for three periods: 1979-1989, 1990-1999, and 2000-2010, Such results were spatially represented in maps. Tables were also constructed showing the mortality rates for each disease and year period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a significant reduction in mortality rates across the three disease groups over the the three defined periods in all the county clusters analysed, Despite an initial mortality rate variation among the counties, it was observed a homogenization of such rates at the final period (2000-2010). The drop in CBVD mortality was greater than that in IHD mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mortality due to CVD has steadily decreased in the SRJ in the last three decades. This reduction cannot be explained by greater access to high technology procedures or better control of cardiovascular risk factors as these facts have not occurred or happened in low proportion of cases with the exception of smoking which has decreased significantly. Therefore, it is necessary to seek explanations for this decrease, which may be related to improvements in the socioeconomic conditions of the population.
authors: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: Gabriel Porto
authors: GP
authors: Soares
authors: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: Carlos Henrique
authors: CH
authors: Klein
authors: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: Nelson Albuquerque de Souza e
authors: NA
authors: Silva
authors: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: Glaucia Maria Moraes de
authors: GM
authors: Oliveira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D002423:Cause of Death / Q000639:trends; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000401:mortality; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult