Journal: Nature medicine
This study used data from the Global Burden of Disease 2023 analysis to quantify how much ischemic heart disease (IHD) worldwide is attributable to poor diet across 204 countries.
Key findings:
- Diet-related IHD burden in 2023:
- About 4.06 million IHD deaths (95% UI 0.74–6.22 million) were linked to suboptimal diet.
- About 96.84 million IHD disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) (95% UI 18.82–142.52 million) were attributable to poor diet.
- Trends from 1990 to 2023:
- The global age-standardized IHD death rate attributable to poor diet declined by ~44% (95% UI 34.44–53.23) per 100,000 population, indicating improvement but with a large residual burden.
- Leading specific dietary contributors to IHD deaths (per 100,000 population):
- Low intake of nuts and seeds: 9.87 deaths (95% UI 2.84–17.12).
- Low whole grains: 9.22 (4.73–13.67).
- Low fruits: 7.25 (1.54–13.34).
- High sodium: 7.15 (0.92–17.97).
- Inequities by sociodemographic level:
- The burden of diet-related IHD is disproportionately higher in low- and middle-sociodemographic index countries.
Overall, the analysis quantifies how much of the global IHD burden could be directly addressed through targeted dietary and food policy interventions, particularly increasing nuts/seeds, whole grains, and fruits, and reducing excess sodium.