Age, sex, and mortality from cardiovascular disease (factor model)

The factor analysis of mortality from cardiovascular diseases in the populations of 17 European countries is presented. The results obtained can be summed up as follows: (1) in different age groups mortality from heart and vessel diseases is determined by various factors which are independent in the statistical sense; (2) the factor structures of mortality from ischemic heart disease, brain vessel damage, and hypertension are only partially coincident; each of these diseases seems to have its own specific pathophysiological mechanisms; and (3) the factor structure of male and female mortality has considerable differences in the young and few differences in the older age group. Some problems of the pathogenesis and prophylactics of cardiovascular diseases are discussed.