Disability-adjusted life years lost due to ischemic heart disease in mainland Portugal, 2013.
OBJECTIVE
Estimates of the burden of ischemic heart disease (IHD), including geographic differences, should support health policy decisions. We set out to estimate the burden of IHD in mainland Portugal in 2013 by calculating disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and to compare this burden between five regions.


METHODS
Years of life lost (YLLs) were calculated by multiplying the number of IHD deaths in 2013 (Statistics Portugal) by the life expectancy at the age at which death occurred. Years lived with disability (YLDs) were computed as the number of cases of acute coronary syndrome, stable angina and ischemic heart failure multiplied by an average disability weight. Crude and age-standardized DALYs (direct method, Standard European Population) were calculated for mainland Portugal and for the Northern, Central, Lisbon, Alentejo and Algarve regions.


RESULTS
In 2013, 95413 DALYs were lost in mainland Portugal due to IHD. YLLs accounted for 88.3% of the disease burden. Age-standardized DALY rates per 1000 population were higher in men than in women, across the entire country (8.9 in men; 3.4 in women) and within each region, ranging from 7.3 in the Northern and Central regions to 11.8 in the Algarve in men, and from 2.6 in the Northern region to 4.6 in Lisbon in women.


CONCLUSIONS
Nearly 100000 DALYs were lost to IHD in Portugal, mostly through early mortality. This study enables accurate comparisons with other countries and between regions; however, it highlights the need for population-based studies to obtain specific data on morbidity.
EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: alhenriques@med.up.pt.
Ana
A
Henriques
EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Department of Cardiology, Centro Hospitalar Trás-os-Montes-e-Alto-Douro, Vila Real, Portugal; Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Predictive Medicine and Public Health, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal.
Carla
C
Araújo
EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Marta
M
Viana
EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Olga
O
Laszczynska
EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Marta
M
Pereira
Population Health Sciences Division, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, St Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Kathleen
K
Bennett
EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Predictive Medicine and Public Health, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal.
Nuno
N
Lunet
EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Predictive Medicine and Public Health, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal.
Ana
A
Azevedo
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis; D011174:Portugal; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years
Anos de vida saudável perdidos; Disability-adjusted life years; Doença isquémica do coração; Ischemic heart disease; Portugal