Blood pressure, cholesterol and cardiovascular disease in Thailand.
BACKGROUND
Although associations between risk factors such as hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are well-established it is not known to what extent these associations are similar in people from different ethnicities or regions. This study aims to measure the contributions of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and total cholesterol (TC) to ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke in the Thai population.


RESULTS
Data from a Thai cohort study were used for analyses. Participants were 2702 males and 797 females aged between 35 and 54 years at the start of study in 1985. Cox Proportional Hazards Models were used to assess RRs of IHD or stroke associated with SBP or TC stratified by age at the time of an event of 30-44, 45-59, and 60-69 years. During the 17 years of follow-up, 96 IHD (40 non-fatal, 56 fatal), 69 strokes (32 non-fatal and 37 fatal) occurred. Each 1 mmol/l increase in TC was associated with a fivefold increase in IHD risk in people aged 30-44 years, but not with significant increase in stroke risk in any age group. The RRs (95% CIs) of IHD per 10 mm Hg increase in SBP were 1.31 (1.04 to 1.64) and 1.46 (1.15 to 1.87), and of stroke, 1.40 (1.10 to 1.79) and 1.85 (1.40 to 2.45) in people aged 45-59 and 60-69 years, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Increases in IHD and stroke risks associated with these two risk factors observed in Thailand are comparable with those in the Asia Pacific and western populations.
The Setting Priorities using Information on Cost-Effectiveness Project, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi Thailand; The University of Queensland, School of Population Health, Brisbane, QLD Australia.
Panrasri
P
Khonputsa
The University of Queensland, School of Population Health, Brisbane, QLD Australia.
J Lennert
JL
Veerman
Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Prin
P
Vathesatogkit
Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Somlax
S
Vanavanan
The Setting Priorities using Information on Cost-Effectiveness Project, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi Thailand; Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA USA.
Stephen
S
Lim
The Setting Priorities using Information on Cost-Effectiveness Project, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi Thailand; The University of Queensland, School of Population Health, Brisbane, QLD Australia.
Melanie
M
Bertram
The Setting Priorities using Information on Cost-Effectiveness Project, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi Thailand; The University of Queensland, School of Population Health, Brisbane, QLD Australia.
Theo
T
Vos
Medical and Health Office, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Nonthaburi, Thailand.
Wipa
W
Ratanachaiwong
Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Sukit
S
Yamwong
Blood pressure; cardiovascular disease; cholesterol; ischaemic heart disease; stroke