Ebrahimi, Hedyeh

BACKGROUND: Despite the substantial burden of IHD in North Africa and Middle East (NAME) region, temporal trends of the burden of IHD were not systematically evaluated in this region and its countries previously. Methods: We reported deaths, premature mortality, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs of IHD in NAME region and its 21 countries during 1990-2019 using the results of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Premature IHD mortality was defined as IHD death in males <55 and females <65 years of age. Results: IHD accounted for 0.8 million deaths and 18 million DALYs in NAME in 2019. From 1990-2019, the age-standardized death rate of IHD significantly decreased by 29% (-37 to -22) and reached 219 (194 to 247) per 100,000 in NAME in 2019 (Fig A) compared with the global estimates of -31% (-35 to -27) and 118 (108 to 126), respectively. From 1990-2019, the age-standardized DALY rate of IHD significantly decreased by 33% (95% CI: -41 to -25) and reached 4159 (3651 to 4752) per 100,000 population in NAME in 2019 (Fig B) compared with the global estimates of -29% (-33 to -24) and 2243 (2099 to 2385), respectively. The reduction in age-standardized DALY was mostly derived from the reduction in YLL (-34%) rather than YLD (-4%) compared with worldwide estimates of -29% and -6%. While the decreasing pattern in the age-standardized DALY and death rate of IHD was consistently observed across all 21 NAME countries, it was not statistically significant for Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen (Fig C, D). In 2019, 27% of IHD deaths in females and 18% of IHD deaths in males were premature in NAME, which was higher than the worldwide estimates of 17% and 15%, respectively. Turkey, Iran, and Lebanon showed the greatest reduction in IHD premature mortality during 1990-2019. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the improvements, IHD still remains the leading cause of lost death and DALYs in NAME. People are more likely to die prematurely due to IHD with more pronounced sex disparities in NAME compared with the global average.

Background The North Africa and Middle East (NAME) region has one of the highest burdens of ischemic heart disease (IHD) worldwide. This study reports the contemporary epidemiology of IHD in NAME. Methods and Results We estimated the incidence, prevalence, deaths, years of life lost, years lived with disability, disability‐adjusted life years (DALYs), and premature mortality of IHD, and its attributable risk factors in NAME from 1990 to 2019 using the results of the GBD (Global Burden of Disease study 2019). In 2019, 0.8 million lives and 18.0 million DALYs were lost due to IHD in NAME. From 1990 to 2019, the age‐standardized DALY rate of IHD significantly decreased by 33.3%, mostly due to the reduction of years of life lost rather than years lived with disability. In 2019, the proportion of premature death attributable to IHD was higher in NAME compared with global measures: 26.8% versus 16.9% for women and 18.4% versus 14.8% for men, respectively. The age‐standardized DALY rate of IHD attributed to metabolic risks, behavioral risks, and environmental/occupational risks significantly decreased by 28.7%, 37.8%, and 36.4%, respectively. Dietary risk factors, high systolic blood pressure, and high low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol were the top 3 risks contributing to the IHD burden in most countries of NAME in 2019. Conclusions In 2019, IHD was the leading cause of death and lost DALYs in NAME, where premature death due to IHD was greater than the global average. Despite the great reduction in the age‐standardized DALYs of IHD in NAME from 1990 to 2019, this region still had the second‐highest burden of IHD in 2019 globally.

The need to protect public health during the current COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated conference cancellations on an unprecedented scale. As the scientific community adapts to new working conditions, it is important to recognize that some of our actions may disproportionately affect early-career researchers and scientists from countries with limited research funding. We encourage all conference organizers, funders and institutions who are able to do so to consider how they can mitigate the unintended consequences of conference and travel cancellations and we provide seven recommendations for how this could be achieved. The proposed solutions may also offer long-term benefits for those who normally cannot attend conferences, and thus lead to a more equitable future for generations of researchers.