Abstract
Background Favourable trends in cardiovascular disease have been observed in Sweden. The aim of this study was to study secular trends in a variety of cardiovascular risk factors.
Methods Total-, low-density (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) serum cholesterol; serum triglycerides; systolic and diastolic blood pressure; self-reported smoking and alcohol consumption were studied in repeated cross-sectional surveys. Data from four population-based samples in Göteborg, Sweden were used—WHO MONICA project 1985, 1990 and 1995, and INTERGENE 2002. A total of 2931 females and 2691 males aged 25–64 consisting of 1021–1624 randomly selected subjects at each survey period participated.
Results Serum cholesterol levels showed downward trends but the decline in both total- and LDL-cholesterol seems to be levelling off from 1995 and onwards. No significant changes were observed in serum triglyceride, HDL-serum cholesterol or blood pressure levels. The majority of the participants had higher total- and LDL-serum cholesterol levels than currently recommended. Antihypertensive medical treatment increased in women and the oldest men. The prevalence of smoking decreased from 39 to 25% in women and 35 to 20% in men respectively from 1985–2002. In contrast, the prevalence of subjects consuming strong beer and wine, respectively, at least once a week almost doubled from 1990–2002.
Conclusions Cardiovascular risk factor patterns change continuously and need to be monitored. The favourable trends in LDL-serum cholesterol and smoking in the Göteborg surveys were paralleled by less favourable trends in being overweight and alcohol consumption.
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