What the study found
The study found that, from 1990 to 2023, Italy’s burden of disease attributable to risk factors improved overall, but differences by region and sex remained. Metabolic risks are risk factors such as high body weight, blood pressure, or blood sugar, and these showed different trends across the country.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that the remaining geographic disparities and sex differences underscore the need for stronger tobacco control, gender-sensitive interventions on metabolic risks, and the integration of social determinants into health policy. The findings indicate that national averages can hide important regional differences.
What the researchers tested
The researchers used estimates from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2023 to examine disease burden attributable to risk factors in Italy between 1990 and 2023. They assessed disability-adjusted life years (DALYs, a measure that combines years of life lost and years lived with disability) across five Italian macro regions and examined correlations with the Socio-demographic Index (SDI).
What worked and what didn't
Metabolic risks in males declined nationally, but they rose in the South and stayed stable in the Islands. In females, metabolic risks were stable overall, but increased in the South and Islands. Behavioural risks decreased across all macro regions in both sexes, and DALYs from metabolic risks were strongly and inversely correlated with SDI in both sexes, while behavioural risks correlated negatively with SDI only in males.
What to keep in mind
The summary does not describe study limitations beyond using modeled estimates from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2023. The abstract also notes that the proportion of unattributable DALYs increased over time, which means not all disease burden was explained by the risk factors examined.
Key points
- Overall burden attributable to risk factors improved in Italy from 1990 to 2023.
- Metabolic risk burden declined nationally in males but increased in the South and stayed stable in the Islands.
- Metabolic risk burden was stable overall in females, but increased in the South and Islands.
- Behavioural risk burden decreased across all Italian macro regions in both sexes.
- Metabolic risks were strongly and inversely correlated with SDI in both sexes.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Italy’s risk-factor burden fell overall but regional gaps remained
- Image credit:
- Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
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