[A comparative study of the evolution of atherosclerosis in men over a 25-year period in 11 European and Asiatic...

Repeated epidemiologic study of atherosclerosis in males on the basis of autopsy material with 25-year interval (1963-66 and 1985-89) has been performed in 7 European cities (Malmö, Praha, Riga, Tallinn, Tartu, Kharkov, Yalta) and 4 Asia cities (Ashkhabad, Bishkek, Irkutsk, Yakutsk). Accelerated development of atherosclerosis in the 2nd study has been revealed in males in the majority of cities except Malmö and Praha. No significant differences in atherosclerosis of aorta and coronary arteries were found in these two cities. An increase of the calcinosis surface in the coronary arteries combined with a higher incidence of coronary stenosis was typical for the 2nd study. Atherosclerosis was less pronounced in the indigenous population of Ashkhabad, Bishkek and Yakutsk in both studied than in non-indigenous populations. There was a positive correlation in males between lethality of coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases and the degree of coronary atherosclerosis. Thus, the course of atherosclerosis can change within the life of one generation.