Costs resulting from premature mortality due to cardiovascular causes: A 20-year follow-up of the DRECE study

Abstract

Objectives: Cardiovascular diseases are still the leading cause of death in Spain. The DRECE study (Diet and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Spain), based on a representative cohort of the Spanish general population, analyzed nutritional habits and lifestyle and their association with morbidity and mortality patterns. We estimated the impact, in terms of loss of productivity, of premature mortality attributed to cardiovascular diseases.

Methods: The loss of productivity attributed to premature mortality was calculated from 1991, based on the potential years of life lost and the potential years of working life lost.

Results: During the 20-year follow-up of a cohort of 4779 patients, 225 of these patients died (men, 152). Sixteen percent of the deaths were attributed to cardiovascular disease. The costs due to lost productivity by premature mortality exceeded 29 million euros. Of these, 4 million euros (14% of the total cost) were due to cardiovascular causes.

Conclusions: Premature cardiovascular mortality in the DRECE cohort represented a significant social cost due to lost productivity.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Costes; Costs; Enfermedades cardiovasculares; España; Mortalidad prematura; Premature mortality; Spain.