Trends in age-specific mortality rates for ischaemic heart disease, 1968 - 1977

Age-specific mortality rates (MRs) were calculated for each year of the period 1968 - 1977 for ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in males and females of the USA, Australia, Finland, Scotland, England and Wales, and of South Africa (Whites). The age range studied, in 10-year intervals, was 15 - 64 years. In the younger age groups (15-24, 25-34 and 35-44 years) the MRs of White South Africans were two to three times as high as those of other populations over the whole 10-year period. In the older age groups the differences narrowed. MRs for IHD in the USA decreased markedly in all age groups over the period studied, the decreases varying from 20% to 40%. Decreases in MRs for IHD also occurred among Australians and Finns but were neither as consistent nor as large as those occurring in the USA. No consistent changes were observed in the other three populations.