• Zhan Hu, Xin Yuan, Keqin Rao, Zhe Zheng, and Shengshou Hu.
• Surgery Department, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China; Department of Cardiac Surgery, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
• J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 2014 Aug 1; 148 (2): 596-602.e1.

BackgroundPrevious studies suggest that mortality from congenital heart diseases (CHDs) is declining in the United States. But we do not know what the CHD mortality trend is in China, especially the rural versus urban patterns. Our study aimed to determine recent changes in death caused by CHD in China and describe CHD mortality in rural and urban Chinese populations.MethodsThe data source was the China Ministry of Health 2003 to 2010 annual reports. Mortality was defined as death caused by CHD. Mortality rates for each year were calculated per 10,000,000 person-years. Poisson regression and descriptive analyses were conducted for overall trend and subgroup analysis was conducted by sex, age, and urban versus rural residency to understand potential disparities in mortality.ResultsFrom 2003 to 2010, the overall mortality rate increased from 141 per 10,000,000 person-years in 2003 to 229 per 10,000,000 person-years in 2010, a 62.4% relative increase. This represents a region-sex adjusted annual increase of 9% (incidence rate ratio, 1.09; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-1.10). The increase in CHD mortality was not uniformly observed across age groups, urban versus rural residence, and sex. The relative increases were 65.3%, 212.2%, and 131.7% for ages 1 to 10 years, 21 to 64 years, and 65 years or older groups, respectively. Urban areas had a relative increase of 154.5% versus 5.3% for rural areas. Females who lived in an urban environment had a relative increase of 313.5%.ConclusionsOur observation showed an obvious increasing trend of CHD mortality in China. What is more, the increase in CHD mortality was not uniformly observed across subgroups. Such information is needed for strategy-making procedures.Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

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