[Epidemiological studies of arteriosclerosis according to pathoanatomical materials]

Data are presented on the principles of carrying out morphological epidemiological studies on atherosclerosis. The important conditions for such studies are: (1) representative character of the materials to be studied (they must be characteristic of a certain population group), and (2) objective quantitative evaluation of the intensity of atherosclerosis in arteries. When these conditions are fulfilled, it is possible to obtain comparable data for populations of different areas and towns. Some results of epidmiological studies are presented indicating significant differences in the intensity of manifestations of atherosclerosis in people of different countries and some towns of the USSR. Moreover, in different ethnical groups of the population of one town the intensity of atherosclerosis may differ widely )Frunze, Ashkhabad, Yakutsk). The epidemiological studies are very important for the research on the factors of risk of ischemic disease and atherosclerosis.