Burden of cardiovascular disease attributable to risk factors in Pakistan: insight from Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Objective: To compare cardiovascular disease (CVD) attributable to environmental, metabolic, and behavioral risk factor trends in Pakistan and globally. Methods: We used the Global Burden of Disease 2019 to determine the number of deaths, disability-adjusted life years, age‐standardized mortality rates (ASMR) per 100,000, and age‐standardized disability-adjusted life years (ASDRs) per 100,000 by age, sex, year, sociodemographic index, regions, and countries. Results: In Pakistan, the ASMR per 100,000 (329 to 358; estimated annual percentage change [EAPC] 0.09) and ASDR per 100,000 (7327 to 7989; EAPC 0.09) for CVD remained stable with an inverted U-shaped trend. On the other hand, the global ASMR per 100,000 (354 to 240; EAPC −0.32) and ASDR per 100,000 (7085 to 4864; EAPC −0.31) for CVD decreased. Both globally and in Pakistan, the highest ASMR and ASDR of CVD were attributable to high systolic blood pressure followed by dietary risks. Out of 204 countries and territories worldwide, Pakistan ranked 49th for SBP and 33rd for dietary risks in terms of ASMR attributable to these risk factors in 2019. Conclusion: CVD disease burden in Pakistan remains prominent, with CVD ASMR and ASDR trends attributable to various risk factors displaying unfavorable patterns compared to global trends.