Andrew Moran

Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) was the leading cause of disease burden worldwide in 2010. The majority of IHD burden affected middle income regions. We hypothesized that IHD burden may vary among countries, even within the same broad geographic region. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to IHD were estimated at the region level for seven “super-regions”, 21 regions, and 187 countries using geographically nested models for IHD mortality and prevalent non-fatal IHD(nonfatal acute myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, or ischemic heart failure). Acute myocardial infarction, angina, and heart failure disability weights were applied to prevalent cases. Absolute numbers of DALYs and age-standardized DALYs per 100,000 persons were estimated for each region and country in 1990 and 2010. IHD burden for world regions was analyzed by country, income, and age. About two-thirds of 2010 IHD DALYs affected middle income countries. In the North Africa/Middle East and South Asia regions—regions with high IHD burden—more than 29% of males and 24% of females struck by IHD were 1,000 per 100,000 increase) and South Asia region (>175 per 100,000). Age-standardized DALYs varied by up to eight fold among countries, by about 9,000 per 100,000 among middle income countries, about 7,400 among low income countries, and about 4,300 among high income countries. The majority of IHD burden in 2010 impacted middle income regions, where younger adults were more likely to develop IHD in regions like South Asia and North Africa/Middle East. However, IHD burden varied substantially by country within regions, especially among middle income countries. A global or regional approach to IHD prevention will not be sufficient; research and policy should focus on the highest burden countries within regions.

Cardiovascular disease and mental health both hold enormous public health importance, both ranking highly in results of the recent Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 (GBD 2010). For the first time, the GBD 2010 has systematically and quantitatively assessed major depression as an independent risk factor for the development of ischemic heart disease (IHD) using comparative risk assessment methodology. A pooled relative risk (RR) was calculated from studies identified through a systematic review with strict inclusion criteria designed to provide evidence of independent risk factor status. Accepted case definitions of depression include diagnosis by a clinician or by non-clinician raters adhering to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or International Classification of Diseases (ICD) classifications. We therefore refer to the exposure in this paper as major depression as opposed to the DSM-IV category of major depressive disorder (MDD). The population attributable fraction (PAF) was calculated using the pooled RR estimate. Attributable burden was calculated by multiplying the PAF by the underlying burden of IHD estimated as part of GBD 2010. The pooled relative risk of developing IHD in those with major depression was 1.56 (95% CI 1.30 to 1.87). Globally there were almost 4 million estimated IHD disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), which can be attributed to major depression in 2010; 3.5 million years of life lost and 250,000 years of life lived with a disability. These findings highlight a previously underestimated mortality component of the burden of major depression. As a proportion of overall IHD burden, 2.95% (95% CI 1.48 to 4.46%) of IHD DALYs were estimated to be attributable to MDD in 2010. Eastern Europe and North Africa/Middle East demonstrate the highest proportion with Asia Pacific, high income representing the lowest. The present work comprises the most robust systematic review of its kind to date. The key finding that major depression may be responsible for approximately 3% of global IHD DALYs warrants assessment for depression in patients at high risk of developing IHD or at risk of a repeat IHD event.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, and their prevalence in lower- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is on the rise. The burden of chronic health expenditure born by patient households in these countries may be very high, particularly where out-of-pocket payments for health care are common. One such country where out-of-pocket payments are especially high is Ukraine. The financial impact of NCDs on households in this country has not been researched. We set out to explore the burden of NCD care in Ukraine with a study of angina patients. Using data from the Ukraine World Health Survey of 2003 we employed the novel Coarsened Exact Matching approach to estimate the difference in out-of-pocket payment (OPP) for health care between households with a stable angina pectoris (a chronic form of IHD) patient and those without. The likelihood of engaging in catastrophic spending and using various distress financing mechanisms (e.g. sale of assets, borrowing) among angina households compared with non-angina households was also explored. Among angina patient households (n = 203), OPP occupied an average of 32% of household effective income. After matching, angina households experienced significantly higher monthly per capita OPP for health care (B = $2.84) and medicines (B = $2.94), but were not at significantly higher odds of engaging in catastrophic spending. Odds of engaging in ‘sale of assets’ (OR = 2.71) and ‘borrowing’ (OR = 1.68) to finance OPP were significantly higher among angina households. The cost of chronic care in Ukraine places a burden on individual patient households. Households of angina patients are more likely to engage in distress financing to cover the cost of treatment, and a high proportion of patients do not acquire prescribed medicines because they cannot afford them. This warrants further research on the burden of NCD care in other LMIC, especially where OPP for health care is common. Health policies aimed at reducing OPP for health care, and especially medicines, would lessen the high health and financial burden of chronic care. Further research is also needed on the long-term impact of borrowing or sale of assets to finance OPP on patient households.

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. The GBD (Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors) study (GBD 2010 Study) conducted a systematic review of IHD epidemiology literature from 1980 to 2008 to inform estimates of the burden on IHD in 21 world regions in 1990 and 2010. The disease model of IHD for the GBD 2010 Study included IHD death and 3 sequelae: myocardial infarction, heart failure, and angina pectoris. Medline, EMBASE, and LILACS were searched for IHD epidemiology studies in GBD high-income and low- and middle-income regions published between 1980 and 2008 using a systematic protocol validated by regional IHD experts. Data from included studies were supplemented with unpublished data from selected high-quality surveillance and survey studies. The epidemiologic parameters of interest were incidence, prevalence, case fatality, and mortality. Literature searches yielded 40,205 unique papers, of which 1,801 met initial screening criteria. Upon detailed review of full text papers, 137 published studies were included. Unpublished data were obtained from 24 additional studies. Data were sufficient for high-income regions, but missing or sparse in many low- and middle-income regions, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa. A systematic review for the GBD 2010 Study provided IHD epidemiology estimates for most world regions, but highlighted the lack of information about IHD in Sub-Saharan Africa and other low-income regions. More complete knowledge of the global burden of IHD will require improved IHD surveillance programs in all world regions.

Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors (GBD) 2010 Study estimated IHD mortality and disability burden for 21 world regions for the years 1990 to 2010. Data sources for GBD IHD epidemiology estimates were mortality surveillance, verbal autopsy, and vital registration data (for IHD mortality) and systematic review of IHD epidemiology literature published 1980–2008 (for non-fatal IHD outcomes). An estimation and validation process led to an ensemble model of IHD mortality by country for all 21 world regions, adjusted for country-level covariates. Disease models were developed for the nonfatal sequelae of IHD: myocardial infarction, stable angina pectoris, and ischemic heart failure. Country level covariates including metabolic and nutritional risk factors, education, war, and annual income per capita contributed to the ensemble model for the analysis of IHD death. In the acute myocardial infarction model, inclusion of troponin in the diagnostic criteria of studies published after the year 2000 was associated with a 50% higher incidence. Self-reported diagnosis of angina significantly overestimated stable angina prevalence compared with “definite” angina elicited by the Rose angina questionnaire. For 2010, Eastern Europe and Central Asia had the highest rates of IHD death and the Asia Pacific High-Income, East Asia, Latin American Andean, and sub-Saharan Africa regions had the lowest. Global and regional IHD epidemiology estimates are needed for estimating the worldwide burden of IHD. Using descriptive meta-analysis tools, the GBD 2010 standardized and pooled international data by adjusting for region-level mortality and risk factor data, and study level diagnostic method. Analyses maximized internal consistency, generalizability, and adjustment for known sources of bias. The GBD IHD analysis nonetheless highlights the need for improved IHD epidemiology surveillance in many regions and the need for uniform diagnostic standards.