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Geographic pathology of arteriosclerosis

1964; Elsevier BV; Volume: 3; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0014-4800(64)90048-6

1096-0945

F. Goodale, K.T. Lee, R.F. Scott, G. M. Edington, E. S. Snell, J. N. P. Davies,

Climate Change and Health Impacts

A study of disease patterns of autopsied individuals over 20 years of age from Kampala, Uganda; Ibadan, Nigeria; and Albany, New York has been carried out. One marked difference between the African and the New York autopsy series is the difference in age distribution. Any comparisons of prevalence of any disease must therefore be based on comparisons of specific age groups. Cirrhosis was more common among Africans in the age groups under 40 than in New Yorkers, but in those over 40 there were no important differences. Infectious diseases were common in all age groups, but in the New Yorkers they usually occurred as a complication whereas in the Africans they were more often the only important disease found at autopsy. Overt parasitic diseases (in contrast to simple infestation by parasites) were not as frequent among the Africans as is often supposed, accounting for less than 12% of all the diseases seen at autopsy. Parasitic infestation in Africans, however, is common, and we still do not know the long-term effects on the host's response to other disease processes. Neoplasms were common in all groups. Thromboembolic diseases were much less common among the Africans in all age-groups than among the New Yorkers. The most striking difference was in the occurrence rate of myocardial infarction, which was almost nonexistent among Africans even in the older age groups and relatively common in New Yorkers. It seems unlikely from this study that differences between Africans and New Yorkers in underlying disease patterns of autopsied patients are sufficient to explain differences in amounts of coronary arteriosclerosis and its complications.