Mortality Rates in a Cardiovascular 'Low-risk' Population in Rural Crete

A research project in primary health care has been in progresssince 1988 in an agricultural area of Crete, with the aim ofsurveying the cardiovascular risk profile and following theincidence of cardiovascular disease in the population over time.In the present paper we have investigated the mortality ratesand the causes of death in 1989 and 1990 of the population ofthe Agios Vassilios county (n = 7758). Furthermore, wheneverpossible, we have checked the accuracy of the certified causesof death against the case record system introduced in 1988 inthe health centre. During 1989 and 1990, 267 subjects died inthe research area, 234 of whom were >65 years old. Diseasesof the circulatory system (mostly congestive heart failure)accounted for 46% of all deaths. The corresponding figure forneoplasms was 18%. The standardized mortality from ischaemicheart disease was found to be very low in both men and women,37.9 and 41.9 per 100 000 per year, respectively, in comparisonwith that of Greece as a whole in 1989, 140.0 and 59.5, respectively.These figures were considerably lower than those reported in1988 from for example Sweden, 303.6 and 153.3, respectively.The standardized mortality from cerebrovascular disease in AgiosVassilios county was found to be somewhat lower than the nationalfigures in 1989, 118.1 and 107.0 in males and females versus135.7 and 142.1, respectively. In our analyses we did not findany under- representation of deaths in circulatory diseaseswhen the death certificates were checked against the availableinformation in the case record system at the health centre,in those patients where this type of in formation was available(n = 128, 48%). In conclusion, the mortality from ischaemicheart disease still seems to be low in Cretans, as previousreports have shown. An upward trend may, however, be expectedin the future, maybe as a result of the change in lifestylenow taking place in Crete. The longitudinal observation of themortality of the Agios Vassilios population is expected to elucidatethis further in the future.