Incidence of myocardial infarction in low-income urban residents of Mexico City

Objective. To estimate the incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) in a low-income Mexican population. Material and Methods. A total of 1 696 men and women aged 35 to 64 years from a longitudinal study were included. All subjects were free of MI at baseline. Incident MI was diagnosed during follow-up by electrocardiogram or by death certificate. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the risk of MI. Results. Median follow-up was 6.2 years. Sixty-two of the participants developed MI. Age-adjusted incidence of MI was 6.6 in men and 4.8 in women per 1000 person-years. The risk of developing MI was associated diabetes (OR=2.42,p=0.003), systolic blood pressure (OR=1.28 per 10 mm Hg, p=0.013) and serum cholesterol (OR=1.36 per 50 mg/dL, p=0.038). Conclusions. Incidence of MI in this population may be explained by the rising prevalence of diabetes and hypercholesterolemia. It is necessary to implement preventive measures to address those risk factors.