Towns with extremely low mortality due to ischemic heart disease in Spain.

Background: The cause of coronary disease inframortality in Spain is unknown. The aim of this study is to identify Spanish towns with very low ischemic heart disease mortality, describe their health and social characteristics, and analyze the relationship with a series of contextual factors.

Methods: We obtained the number of deaths registered for each of 8,122 Spanish towns in the periods 1989-1998 and 1999-2003.

Dementia-associated mortality at thirteen years in the NEDICES Cohort Study.

To evaluate the mortality, thirteen years after the baseline wave (1994), of participants suffering dementia in the Neurological Disorders in Central Spain (NEDICES) Cohort Study, we conducted a population-based cohort study in the elderly (65 years and more) with 5,278 screened participants at baseline. Mortality has been evaluated by means of the National Death Registry of Spain at 1-5-2007, 13 years after enrolment. Cox's proportional hazards regression models were used to evaluate the hazard of death according to dementia severity and type, adjusting for potential covariates (gender, age, level of education, and co-morbidity).

Memory impairment in a simple recall task increases mortality at 10 years in non-demented elderly.

Objective: To evaluate whether memory impairment detected in the three-word delayed recall task of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) increases the risk of mortality.

Methods: The NEDICES (Neurological Diseases in Central Spain) cohort study, is a population census-based study, aimed at detecting age-associated neurological diseases in people aged 65 and over, living in one rural and two urban communities in central Spain. Participants with dementia or without MMSE evaluation at baseline were excluded.

Arsenic in public water supplies and cardiovascular mortality in Spain.

Background: High-chronic arsenic exposure in drinking water is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk. At low-chronic levels, as those present in Spain, evidence is scarce. In this ecological study, we evaluated the association of municipal drinking water arsenic concentrations during the period 1998-2002 with cardiovascular mortality in the population of Spain.

Prevalence of dementia and major dementia subtypes in Spanish populations: a reanalysis of dementia prevalence surveys, 1990-2008.

Background: This study describes the prevalence of dementia and major dementia subtypes in Spanish elderly.

Methods: We identified screening surveys, both published and unpublished, in Spanish populations, which fulfilled specific quality criteria and targeted prevalence of dementia in populations aged 70 years and above. Surveys covering 13 geographically different populations were selected (prevalence period: 1990-2008).

[Coronary disease risk attributable to cardiovascular risk factors in the Spanish population].

Introduction And Objectives: The proportion of the ischemic heart disease (IHD) burden attributable to cardiovascular risk factors in Spain has traditionally been extrapolated from populations in other countries. The aim of this study was to estimate the IHD risk attributable to smoking, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes and excess weight using data from studies carried out in the Spanish population.

Methods: Data on the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in the general population were obtained from a meta-analysis of 48 cross-sectional studies carried out in Spain, and data on corresponding prevalences among IHD patients were derived from the PRIAMHO II and PREVESE II multicenter hospital registries.

Stroke prevalence among the Spanish elderly: an analysis based on screening surveys.

Background: This study sought to describe stroke prevalence in Spanish elderly populations and compare it against that of other European countries.

Methods: We identified screening surveys--both published and unpublished--in Spanish populations, which fulfilled specific quality requirements and targeted prevalence of stroke in populations aged 70 years and over. Surveys covering seven geographically different populations with prevalence years in the period 1991-2002 were selected, and the respective authors were then asked to provide descriptions of the methodology and raw age-specific data by completing a questionnaire.

Risk of ischaemic heart disease and acute myocardial infarction in a Spanish population: observational prospective study in a primary-care setting.

Background: Ischaemic heart disease is a global priority of health-care policy, because of its social repercussions and its impact on the health-care system. Yet there is little information on coronary morbidity in Spain and on the effect of the principal risk factors on risk of coronary heart disease. The objective of this study is to describe the epidemiology of coronary disease (incidence, mortality and its association with cardiovascular risk factors) using the information gathered by primary care practitioners on cardiovascular health of their population.

[Cardiovascular risk factors in Spanish population: metaanalysis of cross-sectional studies].

Background And Objective: To review published studies on the prevalence of the main vascular risk factors -hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity and tobacco smoking- in Spain, and to combine their results in an estimate for the Spanish population.

Material And Method: After a bibliographic search, the studies fulfilling the following inclusion criteria were selected: cross-sectional design, sampling on Spanish population, results including prevalence data of at least one of the above mentioned risk factors, and objective [corrected] (not self-referred) determination of arterial blood pressure, total serum cholesterol, basal glucose, weight, size and body mass index. The combined prevalence was obtained by means of the random effects model, including weight for the proportion that the studied population supposes on the total Spanish population.

Dementia, stroke and Parkinson's disease in Spanish populations: a review of door-to-door prevalence surveys.

We identified 14 door-to-door prevalence surveys on dementia, parkinsonism or stroke in Spanish populations fulfilling specific criteria and combined selected age- and sex-specific data using logistic regression and taking Pamplona as a reference. The prevalence of dementia and of Alzheimer's disease varied significantly with space. However, the largest variation was seen for vascular dementia: odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for Gerona were 6.