title: The burden of disease preventable by risk factor reduction in Serbia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Reliable and comparable analysis of health risks is an important component of evidence-based and preventive programs. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of the most relevant avoidable risk factors on the burden of the selected conditions in Serbia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Attributable fractions were calculated from the survey information on the prevalence of a risk factor and the relative risk of dying if exposed to a risk factor. The population-attributable risks were applied to deaths, years of life lost due to premature mortality (YLL), years of life with disability (YLD) and disability adjusted life years (DALY).
  
  
  RESULTS
  More than 40% of all deaths and of the total YLL are attributable to cigarette smoking, overweight, physical inactivity, inadequate intake of fruit and vegetables, hypertension and high blood cholesterol. Alcohol consumption has in total a beneficial effect. According to the percent of DALY for the selected conditions attributable to the observed risk factors, their most harmful effects are as follows: alcohol consumption on road traffic accidents; cigarette smoking on lung cancer; physical inactivity on cerebrovascular disease (CVD), ischemic heart disease (IHD) and colorectal cancer; overweight on type 2 diabetes; hypertension on renal failure and CVD; inadequate intake of fruit and vegetables on IHD and CVD, and high blood cholesterol on IHD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that a high percentage of disease and injury burden in Serbia is attributable to avoidable risk factors, which emphasizes the need for improvement of relevant preventive strategies and programs at both individual and population levels. Social preferences should be determined for a comprehensive set of conditions and cost effectiveness analyses of potential interventions should be carried out. Furthermore, positive measures, derived from health, disability and quality of life surveys, should be included.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sipetić
authors.forename: Vesna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bjegović-Mikanović
authors.forename: Hristina
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vlajinac
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marinković
authors.forename: Slavenka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Janković
authors.forename: Zorica
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Terzić
authors.forename: Zorica
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Atanacković-Marković
authors.forename: Anka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saulić
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Laaser
mesh_terms: D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D055771:Serbia / Q000453:epidemiology