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Changing pattern of heart diseases in Shanghai from the 1950s to 1980s
1Zhong Shan Hospital, Shanghai Medical University and Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Shanghai, China.
Insights
Heart disease incidence in China increased over four decades, with non-infectious conditions like coronary heart disease rising and infection-related diseases declining. This highlights changing patterns for public health reference.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Heart disease patterns evolve with societal changes.
- Understanding these shifts is crucial for effective healthcare strategies in China.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the dynamic changes in heart disease types over four decades (1950s-1980s).
- To provide a reference for the treatment and prevention of heart diseases in China.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of adult cardiac patients admitted to two major hospitals from 1948 to 1989.
- Comparison of the constituent ratios of different heart diseases across four decades.
Main Results:
- The overall percentage of heart diseases among medical inpatients rose from 9.89% to 23.54% between the 1950s and 1980s.
- Coronary heart disease became the most prevalent, followed by rheumatic and congenital heart diseases.
- Increases observed in congenital heart disease, myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, and dysrhythmia; decreases in rheumatic, pulmonary, and hypertensive heart diseases.
Conclusions:
- China faces an increasing incidence and changing patterns of heart disease.
- Non-infectious heart diseases are rising, while those linked to bacterial infections are decreasing.
- These trends reflect demographic shifts, including an aging population and increased life expectancy.
Objective:
To determine the pattern of dynamic change in types of heart diseases in the past 4 decades for providing a reference to treatment and prevention of heart diseases in China.
Methods:
All adult cardiac patients admitted to the Zhong Shan Hospital and Hua Shan Hospital from 1948 to 1989 were analyzed. The constituent ratio of different heart diseases in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s was compared.
Results:
The percentage of heart diseases among medical inpatients increased in each of the recent 4 decades, from 9.89%, 15.69%, 20.90% to 23.54% respectively. The constituent ratio of different heart diseases changed, coronary heart disease constituted the highest proportion, next came rheumatic heart disease, and congenital heart disease was in third place. Congenital heart disease, myocarditis, cardiac dysrhythmia without organic heart disease, cardiomyopathy and endocarditis increased, rheumatic heart disease, pulmonary heart disease and hypertensive heart disease apparently decreased; syphilitic heart disease could rarely be encountered.
Conclusion:
China is now facing a low overall death rate, a long life expectancy and an aging population. The incidence of heart diseases increased gradually and patterns of heart diseases kept changing. The overall trend is that heart diseases which were not related to infection are increasing while heart diseases related to bacterial infection are decreasing.