The burden of alcohol-related cardiovascular complications in young and middle-aged adults: rising burden of atrial fibrillation and hypertensive heart disease

Abstract

Background and Aims

The burden of alcohol-related complications is high and rising. However, there are notable deficiencies in comprehensive epidemiological study focusing on cardiovascular complications from alcohol, especially among young and middle-aged adults. We thus aimed to determine the burden of these conditions in young and middle-aged adults globally.

Methods and Results

We used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 and analysed the mortality and disability-adjusted life years of alcohol-associated cardiovascular complications in young and middle-aged adults. The findings were classified by sex, region, country, and Sociodemographic Index (SDI). The highest age-standardized death rates (ASDR) were observed in stroke 0.84 (95% UI 0.60–1.09), followed by alcoholic cardiomyopathy 0.57 (95% UI 0.47–0.66) per 100,000 population. The overall burden of alcohol-associated cardiovascular complications decreased globally but increased in atrial fibrillation and hypertensive heart disease. Regionally, most regions underwent a decrease in ASDR, but an increase was observed in Southeast Asia (+2.82%), Western Pacific (+1.48%), low-middle (+1.81%), and middle SDI (+0.75%) countries. Nevertheless, the ASDR and ASDALYs were highest in Europe.

Conclusions

The impact of alcohol-associated atrial fibrillation and hypertensive heart disease has increased over the last decades. Regarding region, the burden in Europe and the rising burden in Asia, require immediate public health policy to lessen these cardiovascular complications from alcohol in young and middle-aged adults.

Keywords:

• Atrial fibrillation
• hypertension
• alcohol
• heart disease
• epidemiology
• global health

Acknowledgement

The figures of world maps were created by using mapchart.net.

Ethical consideration

The current study is exempt from IRB review as secondary data analysis with no confidential patient information was involved.

Author contributions

Conceptualisation – Pojsakorn Danpanichkul, Leenhapong Navaravong. Data curation – Pojsakorn Danpanichkul, Adivitch Sripusanapan, Ekdanai Uawithya. Formal analysis – Pojsakorn Danpanichkul, Kwanjit Duangsonk. Funding acquisition – No funding is required. Investigation – Pojsakorn Danpanichkul, Adivitch Sripusanapan. Methodology – Pojsakorn Danpanichkul, Adivitch Sripusanapan, Kwanjit Duangsonk. Project Administration – Pojsakorn Danpanichkul. Supervision – Pojsakorn Danpanichkul, Kwanjit Duangsonk, Leenhapong Navaravong. Validation – Pojsakorn Danpanichkul, Ekdanai Uawithya. Visualisation – Pojsakorn Danpanichkul, Sorawit Ongsupankul. Writing, original draft – Pojsakorn Danpanichkul, Sorawit Ongsupankul, Juthipong Benjanuwattra, Phuuwadith Wattanachayakul. Writing, review, and editing – Pojsakorn Danpanichkul, Leenhapong Navaravong, Angkawipa Trongtorsak, Surakit Nathisuwan. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.

Disclosure statement

All authors have no conflicts of interest.

Data availability statement

Data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study in 2019 can be retrieved using the GlobalHealth Data Exchange (GHDx) query tool (http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool) which is maintained by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).