In the early to mid 1980s, the WHO MONICA Project conproportion of participants with untreated major elevation of BP ranged from 4.5% to 33.7% in men and from ducted cardiovascular risk factor surveys in 41 study populations in 22 countries. Study populations aged 35-1.9% to 22.3% in women. The proportions of participants receiving antihypertensive medication were 4.3-17.7% 64 years comprised 32 422 men and 32 554 women. Blood pressures (BP) and body mass index (BMI) were for men and 6.0-22.0% for women. These proportions were not correlated with the prevalence of untreated measured according to a standard protocol. Participants were asked about antihypertensive medication.hypertensives. Age-adjusted BMI was associated with SBP and accounted for 14% of the SBP variance in men In men, the average age-standardized BPs ranged among the populations from 124 to 148 mm Hg for sysand 32% in women. We found a large difference in SBP among the MONICA study populations and conclude tolic (SBP) and from 75 to 93 mm Hg for diastolic (DBP).The corresponding values in women were 118-145 that the results represent a valid estimate of the public health problem posed by elevated BP. We also have mm Hg for SBP and 74 -90 mm Hg for DBP. In all populations, women had lower SBP than men in the age shown that almost universally the problem of elevated BP is more prevalent in women than in men, especially group 35-44. However, SBP in women rose more steeply with age so that in 34 of 41 populations women in the older age groups. had higher SBP than men in the age group 55-64. The Keywords: blood pressure epidemiology; age factor; hypertension treatment prevalence index (BMI) and elevated BP is now generally Introduction accepted, to the extent that professional guidelines Blood pressure (BP) profiles in populations have for the non-pharmacological treatment of hypertenbeen compared by many investigators. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] These sion recommend measures to reduce body weight as studies have made major contributions to hypertenan initial step. 11 One may therefore expect that difsion research by generating hypotheses about the ferences between population in means of BMI may mechanisms that cause elevated BP, such as the salt also account for some of the differences in means hypothesis. 9 BP can be affected by medical interof SBP. vention as well as environmental factors such as BP data from different populations sometimes are lifestyle and diet. The large changes in these factors difficult to interpret because few of the data have that are occurring in westernized as well as been collected using a common study design and the developing countries may provide new information number of populations involved may be small. For about factors that influence human BP. Such inforthese reasons, the WHO MONICA Project 12 provides mation may help to identify possible ways in which an attractive framework for the inter-population BP is influenced at the population level, either by study of BP. The WHO MONICA Project was antihypertensive medicat...

The distribution of SCD, with short (< or =1h) and longer (1-24 h) time of death, on days of lowest (Io) GMA differs from that on days of unsettled, active, or stormy (IIo-IVo) GMA. Despite the general trend to higher SCD frequency at IIo-IVo GMA, certain rapidly dying groups (< 65 y males, > 65 y females) showed a strong trend toward higher numbers of SCD at the lowest GMA.

In our previous studies /1-3/ we described some significant links between monthly number of deaths due to cardiovascular disease and suicide and space proton flux > 90 MeV. The aims of the present study were to compare the relationship of some solar and geomagnetic parameters with space proton fluxes of > 60 and > 90 MeV; to examine the monthly correlation of these two proton groups with the monthly death distribution in two countries, Israel and Lithuania. Physical data were obtained from the National Geophysical Data Center and the SESC in Boulder, CO; NSSDC in Goddard Space Flight Center, USA, and the Izmiran Institute of the Academy of Sciences in Russia. Pearson correlation coefficients and probabilities were compared for 56-180 consecutive months. Proton flux of > 60 MeV significantly correlated with three of the four studied monthly geomagnetic activity indices (Ap, Am, Dst), but not with such solar activity markers as sunspot number and solar flux (2800 MGH, 10.6 cm). There was no significant relationship between proton flux of > 60 MeV and monthly number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases and suicide, in contrast to the results for > 90 MeV. From the data available during the 36 months (1986-1988), there was no correlation between monthly levels of > 60 to > 90 MeV. In conclusion, a monthly space proton flux of > 60 MeV is not significantly correlated with the monthly death distribution from cardiovascular disease and suicide and some solar activity indices, such as proton flux of > 90 MeV. It is possible that the 60-90 MeV fraction in the > 60 MeV proton flux "blunts" the cosmobiological relationship between proton flux of > 90 MeV and monthly death number.

1) Around age 70 an increasingly positive relationship between the temporal distribution of deaths from IDH and SA is seen. 2) Gender differences in links to SA are partially a consequence of the higher number of deaths in females from IHD at age > 74.3) Monthly number of suicides is inversely related to number of deaths from IHD.

The monthly rates of all subtypes of AMI were significantly correlated with CRA and inversely correlated with SA and GMA, more strongly in female patients. We presume that the environmental factors studied here affect the general patho-physiological components of AMI, and that different subtypes are a consequence of the localization and extent of the process.