Health of British Hearts

Adults living on the Sussex, Devon and Norfolk coasts are those most at risk in the UK of suffering a heart attack or stroke over the next 10 years, according to GeoMedics, a new research service developed by TNS and the University of Portsmouth.

GeoMedics uses UK healthcare data from a wide range of public and TNS proprietary sources to model and compares the prevalence of heart disease and the estimated number of sufferers across specific locations in the UK. It also compares the profile of at-risk populations, analysing known risk factors such as smoking, age and weight, and relating this to the prevalence of disease. Geographic breakdowns are based on around 400 NHS Primary Care Trust (or equivalent outside England) areas in the UK.

The study indicates that 11% of the UK adult population has cardiovascular disease and a further 9% are at risk of developing the disease but are currently undiagnosed and untreated. This figure increases to some 12% of the population among people living in towns along the Sussex, Devon and Norfolk coasts.

The highest levels of diagnosed coronary heart disease are found in the old industrial and mining towns. However, residents of Sussex, Devon and Norfolk coastal regions are now thought to be those most at risk of developing such diseases, due primarily to the combination of age with lifestyle risk factors such as smoking and lack of exercise.

Bill Blyth, Group Research Director, says TNS has worked with the University of Portsmouth to develop a robust healthcare model. 'For the first time this has enabled researchers to rank those most likely to develop cardiovascular disease at the level of local healthcare delivery'. Until now, Blyth says that databases used to identify 'at-risk' populations have been based on small local surveys and census data, and that local authorities have used different methods, making national comparison very difficult.

'GeoMedics ... will enable the NHS and local health authorities to plan and resource public health spending more effectively' says Blyth, 'while equipping GPs and physicians with important information on the relative prevalence of major diseases in their local area'.

GeoMedics data is currently available for the UK down to Primary Care Trust and equivalent outside England level and will be made available at a lower level of geography in due course. A similar model has recently been completed for Type 2 diabetes and work on other major long-term conditions is underway.

TNS is online at www.tns-global.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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