[The Montecorvino Rovella Project: prevalence of coronary disease risk factors in an area of Campania].

Background: The "Montecorvino-Rovella Project" is a clinical epidemiological study, whose aim is to ascertain the distribution of the coronary risk factors and to treat the high risk people in a southern Italian community (21,328 inhabitants) with a reference area.

Methods: The project consists of three phases: 1) identification and classification of high risk subjects among people aged 25-74 years at Montecorvino Rovella and Bellizzi (intervention area) and in a significant sample at Battipaglia (reference area); 2) treatment of high risk people at Montecorvino Rovella and Bellizzi; 3) periodic rescreening (after 5 and 10 years) of the enrolled cohorts and monitoring of morbidity and fatal cardiovascular events. In the first phase (1988-1990) 569 females and 522 males were examined. The participation response was high: 72.7% (75.9% females and 69.6% males).

Results: In this paper were described the main risk factors prevalence. The mean values (age-standardized) of total serum cholesterol (tc), triglycerides (tg) and fasting blood sugar (gl), for all males were of 204.8 mg/dl (tc), 159.4 mg/dl (tg), and 93.5 mg/dl (gl). In the females the mean values were lower: 202.9 mg/dl (tc), 134.2 mg/dl (tg), and 87.8 mg/dl (gl). The prevalences of this risk factors are the following hypercholesterolemia (serum cholesterol = > 240 mg/dl): males 20.7%, females 19.8%; hypertriglyceridemia (serum triglycerides = > 170 mg/dl): males 38.3%, females 23.1%; hyperglycemia (blood glucose = > 120 mg/dl: males 8.8%, females 6.6%. The mean levels of systolic blood pressure were: males 130.3 mm Hg and females 129.2 mm Hg; diastolic blood pressure: males 80.5 mm Hg and females 78.6 mm Hg. The male subjects with hypertension (B.P. = > 160/95 mm Hg) were 16.3% while female subjects were 26.1%. Hypertension control level in the examined sample was quite low. The prevalence of smokers was: 46% males and 17.3% females. Smokers were more frequently observed in young people (men > 50%), than in the oldest groups.