Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of disease burden, figures published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) indicate—causing one in three deaths worldwide.
These figures are within the latest Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study special report published in JACC, with growing rates of cardiovascular disease said to be a result of population growth, population ageing and exposure to a broad range of risks, including increasing rates of obesity and diabetes.
“This research provides countries with a clear view of where progress is being made and where urgent action is needed,” said Gregory A Roth (University of Washington, Seattle, USA), senior author of the paper. “By targeting the most important and preventable risks, with effective policies and proven, cost-effective treatments, we can work to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases. Each country can find reliable evidence and a kind of policy prescription for better cardiovascular health in our results.”
The updated report shows wide global, regional and national variation in cardiovascular disease burden, even among countries with similar economies. Researchers estimated burden due to 376 diseases including cardiovascular disease from 1990 to 2023 in 204 countries using all available data and statistical models. They identified potential drivers including population growth, population aging and risk factor exposure.
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and deaths estimated in the GBD globally. There were 437 million cardiovascular disease DALYs in 2023, with a 16-fold difference between the countries with the lowest and highest CVD DALY rates.
In 2023, 79.6% of all cardiovascular disease DALYs globally were attributable to modifiable risk factors, which has increased globally by 97.4 million since 1990 largely due to population growth and ageing.
