Epidemiologic burden of ischemic heart disease in Italy

Background: this article provides an updated overview on the current epidemiologic burden of ischemic heart disease (IHD) in Italy. Methods: an electronic search was carried out in the Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) registry, using the keyword “ischemic heart disease”, for retrieving recent information (year 2017) on incidence, prevalence, health loss (expressed as disability-adjusted life year, DALYs) and mortality of IHD in Italy. Results: the cumulative incidence, prevalence and mortality of IHD in Italy are 0.38%, 3.47% and 0.16% respectively, whilst the impact on health loss is 1.11 million DALYs (6.73% of total DALYs). Incidence, prevalence and DALYs are higher in men than in women, whilst mortality is only marginally higher in males. Overall, IHD is the first cause of death in Italy (15.5% of all deaths). During the last three decades the incidence has constantly increased (+30%), whilst DALYs have declined in both sexes by ~30%. Mortality for IHD steadily decreased in men (-13%), whilst it remained almost unchanged in women. The curve of incidence of IHD in Italy peaks between 60-84 years in men and between 75-94 years in women. The mortality curve of IHD in Italy peaks in both sexes between 85-94 years. Hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes are the leading risk factors for IHD in Italy. Conclusions: IHD still poses a substantial clinical, social and economic burden in Italy.