Burden of hypertension-related diseases in Eastern Mediterranean region

This study aimed to estimate the burden of hypertension (HTN), i.e., sustained elevation of blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg, in terms of the number of premature deaths, years of life lost (YLLs), and cost of premature deaths in the World Health Organization-Eastern Mediterranean Region (WHO-EMR).

The population attributable fraction approach was applied in this prevalence-based cost-of-illness study. The prevalence of HTN and hazard ratio for each disease were obtained from published literature, the number of deaths and life expectancy were obtained from the WHO database, and economic data were derived from the World Bank data set. The human capital method was used to calculate the cost of premature deaths.

HTN accounted for 192,564 (95 % confidence interval (CI): 191,703-193,423) premature deaths, 57 % of which occurred among males, representing 29 % (95 % CI: 28.8-29.2 %) of the total deaths from the diseases considered in this study. Premature deaths attributable to HTN were greater in males than females in all countries, except for Afghanistan. In addition, these premature deaths resulted in 4.387 million YLLs (95 % CI: 4.383-4.391 million), 56 % of which occurred among males. The cost of premature deaths attributable to HTN was estimated at US$ 16,142.59 million (95 % CI: US$ 16,142.34-16,142.84 million), representing 0.49 % of the total gross domestic product of EMR, where KSA was the most affected country (33 %) and Djibouti was the least affected country (1 %) in the entire region during 2019.

The burden of HTN in EMR countries was substantial. The findings obtained in this study support the urgent need to implement national strategies to improve the prevention, detection, and treatment of HTN in this region.