Burden of diseases and injuries attributable to risk factors in the European Union in 2019

Abstract

Abstract Background In addition to information on mortality and morbidity from diseases and injuries, it is important to identify the attributable burden of risk factors to allow for health planning and prioritization. Methods For the whole EU and each country, using estimates and 95% uncertainty intervals from the GBD 2019 study, we report attributable (all-cause and by level 2 risk factors) age-standardized death and DALY rates, as well as summary exposure values (SEV). We evaluate trends by comparing estimates for the year 2019 with those for the year 2010. Results Age-standardized death and DALY rates attributable to risk factors declined by 10.7% (95%UI 13.8%-7.6%) and 9.1% (95%UI 12.0%-6.3%), between 2010 and 2019 in the EU. While there was a decreasing trend for both age-standardized death and DALY rates for almost all risk factors, some showed an increasing trend on SEV, including low physical activity and intimate partner violence. Conclusions Despite the improvement of health metrics attributable to risk factors, several modifiable behavioral and metabolic risk factors remain unchanged over the years. It is crucial to ensure a swift implementation of evidence-based policies and interventions in EU member states to achieve the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.