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Cardiovascular disease burden due to productivity losses in European Society of Cardiology countries
Ramon Luengo-Fernandez1, Matthew Little1, Alastair Gray1
1Health Economics Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK.
Insights
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) caused €62 billion in lost earnings across 54 European countries in 2018. Premature deaths from coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease significantly impacted productivity, highlighting the need for targeted prevention and care strategies.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Economics
- Cardiology
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the primary cause of mortality in Europe.
- Understanding the economic burden of CVD is crucial for public health policy.
- Previous estimates of productivity losses due to CVD have varied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the economic impact of premature mortality from CVD across 54 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) member countries.
- To quantify lost earnings associated with coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease.
- To provide a comprehensive overview of productivity losses in 2018.
Main Methods:
- A population-based approach using national data on deaths, employment, and earnings by age and sex.
- Estimation of lost working years and earnings due to premature CVD mortality.
- Discounting of future economic losses to present values at a 3.5% annual rate.
Main Results:
- In 2018, 4.4 million CVD deaths resulted in 7.1 million lost working years and €62 billion in productivity losses across 54 countries.
- Coronary heart disease accounted for 47% (€29 billion) and cerebrovascular disease for 18% (€11 billion) of total CVD productivity losses.
- The European Union member states bore 60% (€37 billion) of the total economic burden, despite lower proportions of deaths and working years lost.
Conclusions:
- Premature mortality from CVD imposes a substantial economic burden across Europe.
- Significant variations in productivity losses among countries underscore the potential benefits of targeted prevention and care policies.
- This study provides a critical economic snapshot to inform future public health interventions for cardiovascular diseases.
Objective:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death across Europe. We estimated lost earnings (productivity losses) associated with premature mortality due to CVD, and separately for its main sub-categories of coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease, across 54 country members of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
Methods And Results:
We used a standardized approach to estimate working years and earnings lost due to premature death resulting from CVD across the 54 ESC member countries in 2018. Our population-based approach was based on national data on the number of deaths, employment rates, and earnings by age group and sex. We discounted future working years and earnings lost to present values using a 3.5% annual rate. In 2018, there were 4.4 million deaths due to CVD across the 54 countries, with 7.1 million working years lost. This represented productivity losses due to premature death of €62 billion in 2018. Deaths due to coronary heart disease accounted for 47% (€29 billion) of all CVD costs, and cerebrovascular disease accounted for 18% (€11 billion). Approximately 60% (€37 billion) of all productivity losses occurred in the 28 European Union member states, despite accounting for only 42% (1.8 million) of deaths and 21% (1.5 million) of working years lost across the 54 countries.
Conclusion:
Our study provides a snapshot of the economic consequences posed by premature mortality due to CVD across 54 countries in 2018. The considerable variation across countries highlights the potential gains from policies targeting prevention and care of cardiovascular diseases.
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