Key result
Central Asia faces ~144% higher ischemic heart disease mortality than the global average.
Why the study?
Ischemic heart disease remains a leading cause of death globally, but trends in its burden across Central Asia and its individual countries required systematic analysis.
Observational
Yes
Absolute Event Rate: 265.51% vs 108.73%
Central Asia faces a rising incidence of ischemic heart disease and a mortality burden that far exceeds global averages, highlighting the critical need for targeted, country-specific prevention programs.
Central Asia's elevated IHD mortality warrants surveillance; observational GBD data leaves open drivers and intervention effects.
Ischemic heart disease (IHD) remains a leading cause of death globally. This study aims to analyze the burden of IHD in Central Asia and in individual countries of the region from 1990 to 2021, through a comparison of trends in incidence, prevalence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years. Using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study, we extracted annual estimates for the Central Asian region, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Mongolia. Metrics were reported as age-standardized rates per 100,000 population. Temporal trends were quantified using Average Annual Percent Change based on joinpoint regression models. A stratification by sex and age groups was done. Central Asia consistently maintained a higher IHD burden than the global average. While global age-standardized incidence rates per 100,000 population fell, Central Asia’s rates per 100,000 population rose from 641.97 in 1990 to 801.56 in 2021. Age-standardized death rates per 100,000 population in the region peaked in the mid-1990s following the dissolution of the Soviet Union but decreased overall from 320.47 in 1990 to 265.51 in 2021. However, this remains significantly higher than the 2021 global rate per 100,000 population of 108.73. Uzbekistan exhibited the highest growth in prevalence and incidence rates per 100,000 population, while Georgia demonstrated the largest reduction in DALYs rates per 100,000 population. Men demonstrated a higher burden across most metrics, although the sex gap narrowed in older populations. Central Asia faces rising incidence rates of IHD and burden levels that far exceed global averages. The significant heterogeneity among countries suggests that region-wide generalizations are insufficient and highlights the critical need for targeted, country-specific prevention programs and health system interventions.
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Davletov et al. (2026) conducted an observational in Ischemic heart disease. The burden of ischemic heart disease in Central Asia far exceeded the global average, with age-standardized death rates of 265.51 versus 108.73 per 100,000 population in 2021.
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