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Ethnic inequalities in acute myocardial infarction hospitalization rates among young and middle-aged adults in Northern Italy: high risk for South Asians

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Abstract

The knowledge of ethnic-specific health needs is now essential to design effective health services and population-based prevention strategies. However, data on migrant populations living in Southern Europe are limited. The study is designed to investigate ethnic inequalities in hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the Veneto region (Italy). Hospital admissions for AMI in Veneto for the whole resident population aged 20–59 years during 2008–2013 were studied. Age and gender-specific AMI hospitalization rates for immigrant groups (classified by country of origin according to the United Nations geoscheme) and Italians were calculated. The indirect standardization method was used to estimate standardized hospitalization ratios (SHR) for each immigrant group, with rates of Italian residents as a reference. Overall, 8200 AMI events were retrieved, 648 among immigrants. The highest risk of AMI is seen in South Asians males (SHR 4.2, 95% CI 3.6–4.9) and females (SHR 2.5, 95% CI 1.4–4.5). AMI rates in South Asian males sharply increase in the 30–39 years age class. Other immigrant subgroups (Eastern Europe, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, other Asian countries, Central-South America, high-income countries) displayed age- and gender-adjusted hospitalization rates similar to the native population. Present findings stress the urgent need for implementation of ethnic-specific health policies in Italy. The awareness about the high cardiovascular risk in subjects from South Asia must be increased among general practitioners and immigrant communities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiological Department, Veneto Region, Passaggio Gaudenzio 1, 35131, Padua, PD, Italy

    Ugo Fedeli, Laura Cestari, Eliana Ferroni, Francesco Avossa & Mario Saugo

  2. Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Pietro Amedeo Modesti

Authors
  1. Ugo Fedeli
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  2. Laura Cestari
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  3. Eliana Ferroni
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  4. Francesco Avossa
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  5. Mario Saugo
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  6. Pietro Amedeo Modesti
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Correspondence to Ugo Fedeli.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Statement of human and animal rights

In this retrospective study, all analyses were carried out on anonymized records, without any possibility of identification of individuals.

Informed consent

All analyses were carried out on anonymized records routinely collected during the delivery of health care. For this type of study, informed consent is not required.

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Fedeli, U., Cestari, L., Ferroni, E. et al. Ethnic inequalities in acute myocardial infarction hospitalization rates among young and middle-aged adults in Northern Italy: high risk for South Asians. Intern Emerg Med 13, 177–182 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11739-017-1631-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11739-017-1631-y

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