Many deaths from cardiovascular disease are linked to an unbalanced diet

In Europe, 1.55 million people die every year due to poor nutrition. This is the conclusion of a recent study conducted by Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Economics (INL) and the competence cluster nutriCARD.

The researchers analysed the importance of diet on cardiovascular disease-related mortality between 1990 and 2019 and published their findings in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

The study found that one in six deaths in Europe can be linked to an unbalanced diet. “In the case of cardiovascular diseases, about a third of deaths are related to poor nutrition,” explains Therese Pörschmann, lead author of the study and a PhD student at the Department of Nutritional Biochemistry and Physiology at the University of Jena.

According to the study, the 27 EU member states account for around 600,000 premature deaths, of which around 112,000 are in Germany. In percentage terms, the majority of people in Europe die from cardiovascular diseases that are partly related to nutrition in Slovakia (48%) and Belarus (47%). The lowest percentage is in Spain (24%). In Germany, 31% of all deaths from cardiovascular diseases are due to an unbalanced diet.

The study also shows which dietary factors had the greatest impact on premature death. “Unfortunately, it’s always the same foods that we eat either too little or too much of,” says Pörschmann. In particular, insufficient consumption of whole grains and legumes, as well as excessive consumption of salt and red meat, have a negative impact.

A third of deaths are among people under 70

The type of cardiovascular disease, as well as the distribution by gender and age groups, were also studied. Most deaths were caused by ischemic heart disease, such as coronary heart disease, followed by strokes and hypertensive heart disease.

About 30% of all premature deaths occurred in people under age 70. In total, the researchers examined 13 different types of cardiovascular disease and 13 different dietary factors.

The actual impact of diet is likely even greater.

"The study does not take into account factors such as alcohol consumption and excessive energy intake, which can cause obesity and type 2 diabetes," explains Professor Stefan Lorkowski from the Institute of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Jena.

“These are further important risk factors for cardiovascular disease,” adds Dr. Toni Meyer of the Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Economics in Halle. “Therefore, the actual mortality from cardiovascular disease, partly caused by an unbalanced diet, is likely to be significantly higher.”

The share of cardiovascular diseases partly related to diet has been growing since 2019

The analysis used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study and looked at a total of 54 countries in Western, Eastern and Central Europe, as well as Central Asia, which WHO groups together as the "European Region".

In addition to the EU Member States and other European countries, it also includes several countries in the Middle East and Central Asia, such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Although the number of deaths partly related to diet is increasing worldwide due to population growth and longer life expectancy, their share of total deaths is falling.

"Until 2015, the proportion of cardiovascular diseases that are partly related to diet had been steadily declining. However, since 2019, these figures have increased slightly again," says Professor Lorkowski.

The latest results once again highlight the great preventive potential of a balanced diet for heart health. "In Germany, we still have a lot of room for improvement and could prevent many premature deaths."