Heart disease mortality in cities of Latin America and in cities and regions of England and Wales.

Death rates from heart disease in cities and regions of England and Wales, based on death certificates for 1963, are compared with death rates from the same causes in 10 Latin American cities, San Francisco, USA, and Bristol, England, derived from the Inter-American Investigation of Mortality which obtained histories and clinical records of fatal illnesses for the years 1962-64 by a sampling method. Death rates in Bristol derived from the 2 sources showed an agreement close enough to justify comparisons between official rates for England and Wales and the data for the Latin American cities.Comparing standardized death rates for males in the Latin American cities with those for the corresponding populations in the English conurbations and cities, the ratio for coronary disease was found to be 0.4; for other degenerative heart disease it was 1.0; for hypertensive heart, 2.2; for other heart disease, 1.5. The corresponding ratios for females were: 0.55, 1.0, 3.0, and 1.7, respectively. When the hospital regions of England and Wales were included, a geographical pattern could be seen, particularly for males, the highest rates for coronary and degenerative heart disease being found in northern England and the lowest rates in central and western cities of Latin America. For hypertensive and other heart disease the pattern was different.Standardized sex ratios for total heart disease mortality at ages from 45 to 74 years in 30 countries are largely affected by the proportions of deaths attributed to arteriosclerotic and degenerative disease but they suggest that geography, country of origin and possibly climate are also factors that differentially affect the sexes and, in consequence, affect the sex ratios.