Trends in coronary heart disease in France during the second half of the 1990s

Background Data on the recent evolution in coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality and incidence rates are lacking in France. This paper aims to investigate whether the declining trends observed from 1985-1993 still persist in the second half of the 1990s. Methods Population registers of acute CHD have been implemented in three specific geographical areas, first as part of the MONICA Project (1985-1993) and, since 1997, according to a simplified registration procedure. Weighted Poisson regressions have been used to investigate time trends in CHD events in men and women aged 35-64 after correction for registration differences. Results Data obtained from 1997-2000 showed that the north-to-south gradient of decreasing frequency of CHD events in France was still present. Besides, they revealed no specific trend in CHD morbidity by centre and gender, except in Lille (in the north of France) where events tended to increase in women. Coronary heart disease mortality rates in recent years were decreasing in men, particularly in the north and east of France, but were stable in women with, even, a rising tendency in the north. Conclusion The decreasing trend in CHD events in France observed from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s seemed to markedly slow down in the second half of the 1990s. (c) 2005 The European Society of Cardiology.