The effects of health determinants and inequities on acute myocardial infarction in New Zealand: An epidemiological essay

Abstract

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) causes significant health burden worldwide, including in New Zealand (NZ). While there are individual risk factors that contribute to an increased risk of AMI, from an epidemiological perspective, there are social, economic, environmental, and political risk factors at a community, national, and international level that can influence the individual risk factors. Specific health de terminants include income and its relationship with economic costs and governmental policies; the effects of non-governmental organisations and an obesogenic environment on diet; and urbanisation and its downstream effects on transport, access to healthcare, and other health determinants. In addition, factors associated with inequity, which can be considered as health determinants themselves, are faced by Māori and women. This disproportionately increases the burden of AMI in those population groups. Overall, these health determinants should be targeted when considering population based interventions to reduce the incidence and complications of AMI in NZ.