Cardiovascular disease: Every second case of death due to better nutrition, preventable

Half of the deaths due to cardiovascular diseases is based on the wrong diet

Too much salt, too little whole grain products and vegetables: According to a recent study, half of all deaths can be attributed to almost by cardiovascular diseases in Europe to an unhealthy diet. Healthier food could save many lives.

More and more Deaths by cardiovascular diseases

In the past year, the German heart Foundation reported that the number of deaths increased as a result of heart disease. Also in other countries of the Western world, cardiovascular diseases are the most common causes of death. It is known that factors such as Smoking, Obesity, lack of exercise and Stress can increase the risk for such diseases. An important role plays also the diet, as a recent study showed.

Each of the second and third case of death due to a better diet preventable

The scientific investigation of 2.1 million out of a total of 4.3 million cardiovascular deaths in the year 2016 in Europe on an inadequate diet.

Of the EU, some 900,000 is attributable to the 28 member States, Russia $ 600,000 to Ukraine to 250,000 deaths.

As the international team of researchers under the direction of the Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), the Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena, the competence cluster nutriCARD, as well as the University of Washington in the USA reported that could be any second and third premature death can be avoided by a better diet.

The results of the study were recently published in the journal “European Journal of Epidemiology”.

Little whole-grain products and a lot of salt

According to a notification, the Team evaluated for the study, representative data from the global burden of disease study (Global Burden of Disease Study) from 1990 to 2016.

The researchers analyzed how often cardiovascular diseases, for example heart attacks or strokes, in the 51 countries were summarized by the world health organization (WHO) as a “European Region”.

For this purpose, several States in addition to the 28 EU member States and other European countries, the middle East and Central Asia, such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

On the Basis of the food consumption and other risk factors of the respective States, the researchers calculated the proportion of deaths due to an unbalanced diet.

To do this, the authors of the study include a low consumption of whole grain products, nuts and seeds and vegetables and high salt consumption.

160.000 deaths in Germany

In comparison with other countries considerable differences can be observed:

According to the researchers of 160,000 deaths (46 percent of all cardiovascular deaths) were 2016 in Germany, in Italy, to 97,000 (41%), in the UK to 75,000 (41 percent) and in France of 67,000 (40%) with an unbalanced diet associated.

In Israel and Spain, by contrast, only a third of premature cardiovascular death diet. In the context of the study-specific country profiles:

“While in Sweden and Norway to a low consumption of nuts and seeds to most diet-related cardiovascular contributes to diseases, is in many Central and Eastern European and Central Asian countries, the low consumption of wholegrain products is the main risk factor,” said study leader Dr Toni Meier of the University.

“Or to put it differently: An increased consumption of fiber-poor white flour products has in recent years led to an increase in cardiovascular diseases,” the expert says.

“In Albania, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, the relevant case numbers in the considered period more than doubled.”

Conversely, a diet can protect with high in whole grain in front of a premature death due to cardiovascular disease, as in other studies, could be demonstrated.

The potential of a health-promoting diet to make better use of

“Our results are of crucial health political relevance, and should be in the development of future prevention strategies are taken into account,” said Prof. Dr. Stefan Lorkowski, University of Jena, co-author of the study and Chairman of the competence cluster nutriCARD.

“We need to exploit the potential of a balanced and health-promoting nutrition better, otherwise cardio-metabolic disorders will cause in the future, even more preventable deaths.”

The Team also found in terms of age and gender, large differences: males tend to be already in younger years, women only after the age of 50. Years of age.

In the year 2016, around 601.000 people under 70 years of age died as a result of a diet-related cardiovascular disease; of these, 420,000 men and 181,000 on women.

According to the figures, the highest proportion of nutrition-related deaths in the 70-Year-olds in Central Asia, observed here, it was 42.5 percent.

In the EU member States, the scientists were able to conditional 178.000 early diet deaths – To 132,000 in men and 46,000 women – show what corresponds to a share of almost 20 percent in the case of cardiovascular death.

Risk factor, alcohol was not taken into account

In addition, the researchers succeeded with the help of the calculation model, the effects of other risk factors, such as Obesity, hypertension, lack of exercise and Smoking them in the calculation and to determine the specific proportion of a wrong diet to cardiovascular disease.

To stress “is that of the well-known risk factor of alcohol has not been taken into account in our study,” says the nutritionist Prof. Dr. Gabriele Stangl of the MLU.