Trends and determinants of cardiovascular mortality in the Soviet Union

The mortality data extracted from the USSR official vital statistics available up to the middle of 1988 show that age-adjusted total mortality for adults aged 25-64 years increased from 1969-70 to 1985 by about 0.7 per 1000 in men and about 0.2 per 1000 in women. All the increase in total mortality resulted from the increase in mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) most of which were from coronary heart disease (CHD). More specifically, mortality from rheumatic and hypertensive diseases decreased slightly (0.1-0.2 per 1000), while mortality from cerebrovascular and other CVD increased slightly (0.1-0.2 per 1000). The age-specific mortality at younger ages tended to decrease while in older decades it continued to rise. Life expectancy was about 64 years in men and about 73 years in women. The state vital statistics data are supported by information from the USSR MONICA centres and also by the data on high coronary risk profiles of the population as evaluated by the prevalence of CHD symptoms and the distribution of major CHD risk factors in various centres of the Soviet Union.