Recent Rise in Disability, Years of Life Lost From CVD Due to Air Pollution

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 16, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- From 1990 to 2019, all-age disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to cardiovascular diseases attributable to particulate matter (PM) air pollution increased 31 percent, according to a study published online Aug. 9 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Mahsa Moradi, Ph.D., from Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran, and colleagues examined the global burden of cardiovascular diseases attributed to PM from 1990 to 2019 using the Global Burden of Disease study 2019. DALYs, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and deaths attributed to PM were investigated.

The researchers found the same declining trend for all burden measures' age-standardized rates for PM; the highest decline was seen for deaths (−36.7 percent). There was a 31 percent increase in all-age DALYs, reaching 8.9 million in 2019, with YLLs contributing the most (8.2 million). Higher deaths, DALYs, and YLLs were higher for men despite lower years lived with disability versus women in 2019. An 8.1 percent increase was seen in the age-standardized rate of DALYs for ambient PM. However, during the study period, there was a 65.4 percent decrease in household air pollution from solid fuels. In 2019, the low and high sociodemographic index regions had the highest and lowest attributed YLLs/YLDs ratio for PM pollution, respectively.

"The declines in deaths may be considered positive news, as they indicate improvements in health care, air pollution control measures, and access to treatment," senior author Farshad Farzadfar, M.D., M.P.H., D.Sc., also of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, said in a statement. "However, the increase in disability-adjusted life years suggests that although fewer people were dying from cardiovascular disease, more people were living with disability."

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