Impact of obesity on life expectancy among different European countries: secondary analysis of population-level data over the 1975-2012 period - PubMed (original) (raw)

Impact of obesity on life expectancy among different European countries: secondary analysis of population-level data over the 1975-2012 period

Nikoletta Vidra et al. BMJ Open. 2019.

Abstract

Objective: This study assesses the impact of obesity on life expectancy for 26 European national populations and the USA over the 1975-2012 period.

Design: Secondary analysis of population-level obesity and mortality data.

Setting: European countries, namely Austria, Belarus, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the UK; and the USA.

Participants: National populations aged 18-100 years, by sex.

Measurements: Using data by age and sex, we calculated obesity-attributable mortality by multiplying all-cause mortality (Human Mortality Database) with obesity-attributable mortality fractions (OAMFs). OAMFs were obtained by applying the weighted sum method to obesity prevalence data (non-communicable diseases (NCD) Risk Factor Collaboration) and European relative risks (Dynamic Modeling for Health Impact Assessment (DYNAMO- HIA)). We estimated potential gains in life expectancy (PGLE) at birth by eliminating obesity-attributable mortality from all-cause mortality using associated single-decrement life tables.

Results: In the 26 European countries in 2012, PGLE due to obesity ranged from 0.86 to 1.67 years among men, and from 0.66 to 1.54 years among women. In all countries, PGLE increased over time, with an average annual increase of 2.68% among men and 1.33% among women. Among women in Denmark, Switzerland, and Central and Eastern European countries, the increase in PGLE levelled off after 1995. Without obesity, the average increase in life expectancy between 1975 and 2012 would have been 0.78 years higher among men and 0.30 years higher among women.

Conclusions: Obesity was proven to have an impact on both life expectancy levels and trends in Europe. The differences found in this impact between countries and the sexes can be linked to contextual factors, as well as to differences in people's ability and capacity to adopt healthier lifestyles.

Keywords: epidemiology; public health.

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Age-standardised obesity-attributable mortality fractions in 26 European countries* (by five regions) and the USA, 1975–2014, 18–100 years. *Countries within the same region are presented with the same colour. Central Europe: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia; Eastern Europe: Belarus, Estonia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and the Russian Federation; Northern Europe: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden; Southern Europe: Italy, Portugal and Spain; Western Europe: Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK.

Figure 2

Figure 2

Potential gains in life expectancy at birth if obesity-attributable mortality was eliminated, in 26 European countries* (differentiating Western and Central Eastern Europe) and the USA, 1975–2012. *Countries within the same region are presented with the same colour. Central Eastern Europe: Belarus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Russian Federation, Slovakia and Ukraine; Western Europe: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

Figure 3

Figure 3

Average annual increase (%) in potential gains in life expectancy due to obesity in 26 European countries and the USA between 1975 and 2012, in men.

Figure 4

Figure 4

Average annual increase (%) in potential gains in life expectancy due to obesity in 26 European countries and the USA between 1975 and 2012, in women.

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