Globally, CVDs Were Leading Cause of Disability-Adjusted Life Years, Deaths in 2023

THURSDAY, Oct. 2, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) were the leading cause of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and deaths in 2023, according to a study published online Sept. 24 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Gregory A. Roth, M.D., M.PH., from the University of Washington in Seattle, and researchers from the Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases and Risks 2023 Collaborators described the global, regional, and national burden of CVDs and risk factors including 18 subdiseases and 12 associated modifiable risk factors in 1990 to 2023 in 204 countries and territories.

The researchers found that in the Global Burden of Disease 2023 study, CVDs were the leading cause of DALYs and deaths. There were 437 million CVD DALYs globally as of 2023, representing a 1.4-fold increase from 320 million in 1990. In 2023, the leading cardiovascular causes of DALYs globally were ischemic heart disease, intracerebral hemorrhage, ischemic stroke, and hypertensive heart disease. Age-standardized CVD DALY rates were highest in low and low-middle sociodemographic index (SDI) settings and lowest in high SDI settings in 2023. There was an increase in the number of CVD deaths globally, from 13.1 to 19.2 million in 1990 and 2023, respectively. Since 1990, there was a more than doubling in the number of prevalent cases of CVD, with 311 and 626 million prevalent cases in 1990 and 2023, respectively. Of the CVD burden, 79.6 percent was attributable to modifiable risk factors.

“Our analysis shows wide geographic differences in CVD burden that can”t be explained by income level alone,” Roth said in a statement. “Given this kind of variation, our findings offer the opportunity to tailor local health policies to target the most relevant risks for specific populations.”

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