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

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.