Cardiometabolic Health of Healthcare Workers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

C ardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of global disease burden and mortality. 1In 2023, CVDs accounted for an estimated 437 million disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and 19.2 million deaths worldwide, representing a substantial increase from 320 million DALYs and 13.1 million deaths in 1990. 2 The highest age-standardized CVDs DALYs rates were observed in low-and middle-socio-demographic index regions, where the contribution of CVDs to all-cause DALYs in middle socio-demographic index countries increased sharply from 11.6% in 1990 to 19.9% in 2023. 2 At the same time, low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) face tightening health financial constraints as external development assistance has decreased in recent years due to reduced foreign aid from major donors, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. 3 These converging pressures pose growing challenges for healthcare systems in LMICs and their workforce.In this issue of JACC: Asia, Ginanjar et al 4 provide timely and policy-relevant evidence on the cardiometabolic health of internal medicine specialists in Indonesia, a LMIC facing a rapidly increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases.Using nationwide data