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Avoidable Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Contribution of Selected Risk Factors for Cardiovascular-Related Deaths

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Abstract

Introduction

Contribution of risk factors for cardiovascular-related deaths in the Eastern Mediterranean Region Organization (EMRO) is not estimated quantitatively.

Aim

To determine the avoidable burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) due to hypertension, diabetes, smoking, overweight, and obesity in countries of EMRO of the WHO.

Methods

The comparative risk assessment methodology was used to calculate the potential impact fraction (PIF) and percentage of the avoidable burden of CVD-related death due to associated risk factors. Population exposure levels for CVDs and corresponding measures of association were extracted from published studies. The attributable burden was calculated by multiplying the Disability-Adjusted Life-Years (DALYs) for CVDs by the estimated impact fraction of risk factors. DALYs of the CVDs in all countries of the EMRO were extracted from the GBD official website in 2016.

Results

Following reduction of the current prevalence of smoking, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and overweight to a feasible minimum risk exposure level in Lebanon, about 12.4%, 4.2%, 10.2%, 3.8%, and 5.7% of the burden of CVD-related mortality could be avoidable, respectively. The corresponding values of avoidable burden in selected EMRO countries were 5.1%, 3.5%, 9.4%, 5.9% and 5.3% in Iran and 9.5%, 4.1%, 11%, 8.2% and 5.4% in Egypt.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that health policy makers of all EMRO countries should take into account the attributable burden of CVD-related mortality due to associated risk factors to effectively develop preventive interventions.

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Acknowledgements

This study has been adapted from an MSc thesis at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Ehsan Mazloumi & Manoochehr Karami

  2. Research Center for Health Sciences, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Jalal Poorolajal

  3. Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Nizal Sarrafzadegan

  4. School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, East Mall, Vancouver, BC, 2206, Canada

    Nizal Sarrafzadegan & Hamid Reza Roohafza

  5. Modeling of Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Javad Faradmal

  6. Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Manoochehr Karami

Authors
  1. Ehsan Mazloumi
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  2. Jalal Poorolajal
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  3. Nizal Sarrafzadegan
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  4. Hamid Reza Roohafza
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  5. Javad Faradmal
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  6. Manoochehr Karami
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Contributions

All authors have approved the manuscript. MK has established first idea data analysis and drafted manuscript, EM helped to design and conduct the study. All authors have had a substantial contribution in data gathering, manuscript drafting, and critical revision of manuscript and data analysis.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manoochehr Karami.

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Funding

The study was partially funded by Vice-chancellor for Research and Technology, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (No. 9611247770).

Conflict of interest

Authors have no conflicts of interests to declare.

Ethical approval

Protocol of this study has been approved by Ethics Committee of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (No. 9611247770).

Informed consent

No individual data were collected from participants. We did not obtained informed consent form because of using aggregate data.

Additional information

This article is part of the topical collection on Epidemiology of Hypertension.

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Mazloumi, E., Poorolajal, J., Sarrafzadegan, N. et al. Avoidable Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Contribution of Selected Risk Factors for Cardiovascular-Related Deaths. High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev 26, 227–237 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40292-019-00319-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40292-019-00319-3

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