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Life-years-gained from population risk factor changes and modern cardiology treatments in Ireland

Zubair Kabir1, Kathleen Bennett, Emer Shelley

  • 1Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Trinity College & St. James's Hospital Dublin, Ireland. kabirzin@yahoo.com

European Journal of Public Health
|June 27, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Coronary heart disease (CHD) treatments and risk factor changes in Ireland significantly increased life expectancy. Reductions in cholesterol and smoking yielded more life-years gained than medical interventions alone.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular epidemiology
  • Public health policy
  • Health economics

Background:

  • Coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality rates in Ireland have decreased significantly since the mid-1980s.
  • Adult life expectancy in Ireland has shown a steady improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To estimate the life-years gained from CHD treatments.
  • To quantify the impact of changes in cardiovascular risk factor levels on life-years gained.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the Irish IMPACT CHD mortality model.
  • Integrated data on patient numbers, treatment uptake, risk factor trends, treatment effectiveness, and survival rates.
  • Stratified analyses by age and sex, with sensitivity analyses performed.

Main Results:

  • Approximately 44,060 life-years were gained among individuals aged 25-84 between 1985 and 2000.
  • Cardiology treatments contributed around 14,505 life-years.
  • Risk factor reductions, particularly in cholesterol and smoking, accounted for approximately 32,705 life-years, with cholesterol reduction being the largest contributor.

Conclusions:

  • Modern cardiology treatments have substantially increased life-years in Ireland.
  • Risk factor reduction strategies have proven more effective in gaining life-years than treatments alone.
  • Future health gains depend on effective public health policies promoting healthy diets, weight reduction, and smoking cessation.
Abstract

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