Trends in incident acute myocardial infarction in Norway: An updated analysis to 2014 using national data from the CVDNOR project

Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2018 Jul;25(10):1031-1039. doi: 10.1177/2047487318780033. Epub 2018 May 29.

Abstract

Background We updated the information on trends of incident acute myocardial infarction in Norway, focusing on whether the observed trends during 2001-2009 continued throughout 2014. Methods All incident (first) acute myocardial infarctions in Norwegian residents age 25 years and older were identified in the Cardiovascular Disease in Norway 1994-2014 project. We analysed overall and age group-specific (25-64 years, 65-84 years and 85 + years) trends by gender using Poisson regression analyses and report the average annual changes in rates with their 95% confidence intervals. Results During 2001-2014, 221,684 incident acute myocardial infarctions (59.4% men) were identified. Hospitalised cases accounted for 79.9% of all incident acute myocardial infarctions. Overall, incident acute myocardial infarction rates declined on average 2.6% per year (incidence rate ratio 0.974, 95% confidence interval 0.972-0.977) in men and 2.8% per year (incidence rate ratio 0.972, 95% confidence interval 0.971-0.974) in women, contributed by declining rates of hospitalisations (1.8% and 1.9% per year in men and women, respectively) and deaths (6.0% and 5.8% per year in men and women, respectively). Declining rates were observed in all three age groups. The overall acute myocardial infarction incidence rates continued to decline from 2009 onwards, with a steeper decline compared to 2001-2009. During 2009-2014, gender-adjusted acute myocardial infarction incidence among adults age 25-44 years declined 5.3% per year, contributed mostly by declines in hospitalisation rates (5.1% per year). Conclusion Acute myocardial infarction incidence rates continued to decline after 2009 in Norway in both men and women. The decline started to involve individuals aged 25-44 years, marking a turning point in the previously reported stagnation of rates during 2001-2009.

Keywords: Acute myocardial infarction; Norway; epidemiology; incidence; time trends.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Age Distribution
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Female
  • Hospital Mortality / trends
  • Hospitalization / trends
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Myocardial Infarction / diagnosis
  • Myocardial Infarction / epidemiology*
  • Myocardial Infarction / mortality
  • Myocardial Infarction / therapy
  • Norway / epidemiology
  • Sex Distribution
  • Time Factors