Abstract
Chronic disease research in Europe and the need for integrated population cohorts
Highlights
Demographic changes in the age structure of the European population are going to have an important effect on absolute numbers of disease events even assuming no major changes in age-specific incidence rates
The financial costs associated with treating chronic diseases are extremely high, and given that the average age of European populations is increasing, chronic diseases will continue to place an important pressure on national budgets
The Global Action Plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable disease (NCDs) identified an overall goal for a 25% relative reduction in premature deaths by 2025 [7]. This highlights the urgent need to identify cost-effective and evidence-based public health policies and interventions that are suitable for the European population, in order to help alleviate the burden of chronic diseases
Summary
The burden of chronic disease in Europe is characterized by several positive trends, and some major new challenges. Even within the relatively recent period of 2003–2013, there was an increase in life expectancy of 3.2 years for men and 2.5 years for women overall in the EU (Fig. 1) [1] While these trends represent a major success in public health, they hide less positive developments, including major health disparities. Across Europe major differences in life expectancy exist, of over 10 years for men and over 7 years for women (Table 1) [1]. These differences are most extreme between southern Mediterranean Europe and the countries of central Europe and the Baltic region. Cancer from all causes is the predominant cause of death before the age of 65, whereas cardiovascular disease is the predominant cause of death after age 65
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