A study of baseline risk factors for coronary heart disease: results of population screening in a developing country

To contribute information on coronary heart disease and its risk factors (information which is still scarce in developing countries), this report is presented on a population screening study done in urban Jakarta, using the MONICA Protocol. A randomly selected sample of 2073 people (25-64 years) from 3 districts (total population 523,000) of Jakarta were examined. The results were as follows: electrocardiogram (ECG) signs of old myocardial infarction were found in 2.7%, and sequelae of stroke in 0.5% of respondents: prevalence of hypertension was found in 14.9%; male smokers were 59.9% (females only 5.9%); mean serum total cholesterol concentrations were 5.2 mmol/L in men and 5.4 mmol/L in women, with 13.4% of all respondents having hypercholesterolaemia (greater than or equal to 6.5 mmol/L); regular alcohol drinkers were only 2.7%. Anti-smoking, anti-hypertension and active physical exercise campaigns already launched many years ago will be boosted, along with the preservation of the traditional low fat diet of the common Indonesian.