Epidemiology and Demography of Coronary Artery Disease

Abstract

The study of epidemiology is vital in identifying the connections which exist between lifestyle, environment, and disease, thus providing knowledge of the factors, distribution, and pathology of disease. As the leading cause of death in the United States since 1900, save 1918, coronary artery disease continues to overwhelm mortality and morbidity statistics. In the United States, 1 in 5 deaths are attributed to CAD, the leading cause of death of both males and females. In fact, CAD kills approximately five times more females than does breast cancer. The estimated direct and indirect cost of CAD in 2008 is $156 million. As a disease that manifests itself in the crib, it is not surprising that CAD is also the leading cause of death worldwide, becoming a pandemic. Coronary artery disease is a condition that is multifaceted, influenced by social status, genetics, lifestyle (culture), and environmental factors. The risk of development of CAD is said to increase with the transition of rural, agrarian, economically underdeveloped to urbanized, industrialized modern societies. Modernization leads to a more sedentary lifestyle, diets higher in calories, and psychosocial stresses. Risk factors such as hypertension, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and diet are modifiable risk factors, whereas genetics, age, race, and gender are nonmodifiable risk factors associated with CAD. Community education must continue to dominate efforts to reduce the major modifiable risk factors. As we continue to monitor the distribution of CAD in populations, epidemiology will provide us with better guidelines, which when applied appropriately can continue to decrease death rates caused by such a devastating disease worldwide.