Does immigration contribute to decreasing CHD incidence? Coronary risk factors among immigrants in Göteborg, Sweden
Why the study?
Does immigrant status affect cardiovascular risk factor profiles and MI incidence compared to native-born subjects in Sweden?
Population
1,618 men and women aged 25-64 years from Göteborg, Sweden, randomly sampled within the WHO MONICA project.
Comparison
Immigrant status vs Swedish-born subjects
Design
Cross-sectional
Authors
Discussion
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Member takes
Implication
Immigrants' similar MI incidence despite worse risk profiles does not explain Sweden's CHD decline; leaves open targeted prevention needs in prospective studies.
Key Points
- To evaluate whether increasing immigration contributed to the long-term decline in coronary heart disease incidence in Sweden and to compare cardiovascular risk factor profiles between immigrants and native-born residents.
- Screened a random population-based sample of 1,618 men and women aged 25–64 years via questionnaires, physical examinations, and laboratory testing within the WHO MONICA project.
- Identified incident myocardial infarction cases from the Göteborg Myocardial Infarction Register and cross-referenced municipal data to determine population proportions.
- Immigrants represented 22.4% of the population aged 25–64 years and accounted for 21.7% of myocardial infarction cases, showing incidence comparable to Swedish-born individuals.
- Finnish immigrants had higher blood pressure, Finnish men had higher total- and LDL-cholesterol, and immigrant women had significantly higher BMI and waist-to-hip ratio.
- Non-Finnish immigrants of both sexes had significantly lower HDL-cholesterol and significantly higher serum triglycerides, alongside higher rates of smoking in men, physical inactivity, and psychological stress.
Structured PICO
Does immigrant status affect cardiovascular risk factor profiles and MI incidence compared to native-born subjects in Sweden?
P
Population
1,618 men and women aged 25-64 years from Göteborg, Sweden, randomly sampled within the WHO MONICA project.
I
Intervention
Immigrant status (Finnish and non-Finnish immigrants)
C
Comparator
Swedish-born subjects
O
Outcome
Cardiovascular risk factor profile and incidence of myocardial infarctionsurrogate
The decreasing trend in CHD in Sweden is not explained by immigration from low-risk countries, as immigrants actually exhibit a worse cardiovascular risk factor profile than native Swedes.
Cite This Study
Dotevall et al. (2000) studied this question.