Comparison of clinical characteristics of acute myocardial infarction in aborigines and nonaborigines in Taitung area of Taiwan.

This study aims to examine the correlation between acute myocardial infarction and various risk factors in eastern Taiwan as well as compare the manifestations of this serious disorder in nonaborigine and aborigine populations in the region. We collected 440 consecutive patients (308 nonaborigines and 132 aborigines) who were diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) at the Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taitung Branch, between the years 1994 and 2001. Analysis showed that AMI was more prevalent in nonaborigines than in aborigines (0.021 -/+ 0.009% vs 0.011 -/+ 0.009%, p = 0.02). In term of gender, as a whole or within each ethnic group, AMI was more predominant in men than in women (as a whole, 70%; nonaborigines, 73%; aborigines, 63%; nonaborigines vs aborigines p = 0.03), and nonaborigines had more male patients. Regarding in-hospital mortality, the distribution of age (aborigine 68.2 -/+ 13.1 vs nonaborigine 73.5 -/+10.4, p = 0.02) and percentage of smokers (aborigine 15% vs nonaborigine 32%, p = 0.05) were different between the ethnic groups. Significant risk factors as a whole included the age, total cholesterol, uric acid, and the Killip Class of AMI. Multiple regression analysis showed that diabetes, age > or = 70 years, uric acid > or = 9.0 mg/dL, and Killip class 3 or 4 had relative risk of 1.81, 2.08, 2.89, and 1.63, respectively. However, mortality rate was not affected by ethnicity.