Acronym decode: MONICA = MONItoring + CArdiovascular. Spelling out the capital letters of the name gives away the answer at once.
Full form: Multinational MONItoring of trends and determinants in CArdiovascular disease, a WHO project.
Scale and aim: It enrolled populations from 41 centres in 26 countries and ran for about a decade, ending in 1994. Its purpose was to explain the differing trends in coronary and stroke mortality across countries by linking them to changes in classic risk factors, acute care and survival.
Eliminate: Cerebrovascular, diabetes and congenital heart disease all break the acronym, since the CA stands for cardiovascular. Answer: cardiovascular disease. Ref: Park PSM, 24e, p.385.