Abstract:
Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death and a major cause
of morbidity in New Zealand. Although the mortality rates are now
declining, they remain high by international standards and there is
considerable scope for the prevention of coronary heart disease. There
is a paucity of New Zealand data on the aetiology of this disease.
The Auckland Heart Study is a case-control study of coronary heart
disease which was designed to determine whether a range of variables
including; smoking, passive smoking, hypertension, exercise, alcohol,
serum lipids, and dietary and psychosocial factors, are related to
coronary heart disease in New Zealand. Other factors examined included
respiratory infection, sex hormones and serum vitamins. The study also
documented the prevalence of the major risk factors in the Auckland
adult population so as to examine trends in risk factors since the 1982
Auckland Risk Factor Study.
The study was conducted between 1 March 1986 and 3 May 1988. There were
two case groups: non fatal myocardial infarction cases and coronary
death cases; and two control groups: myocardial infarction controls and
coronary death controls. Participants were aged 25-64 years.