This publication describes the proceedings and conclusions of a joint King’s Fund and OECD workshop on trends in CVD mortality, their main drivers and the associated policy implications. The principal aims of the workshop were to:
Raise international awareness of the recent slowdown in CVD mortality improvements in several high-income countries, and the contribution of these trends to the slowdown in improvements in overall life expectancy;
Consider available evidence on the potential causes of this slowdown;
Identify the key implications for policy and ongoing national and international monitoring; and
Consider how further work on this important global policy issue can be fostered, including through international dialogue and collaboration.
This report was compiled by Eliana Barrenho (OECD) and Veena Raleigh (The King’s Fund) and includes contributions by the invited speakers who generously offered their expertise in CVD and authored papers that comprise five chapters of this publication. They include:
Ms Susanne Løgstrup, Director of the European Heart Network, Belgium, who presented material from the European Cardiovascular Disease Statistics – 2017 edition.
Professor Jessica Ho, Assistant Professor of Gerontology and Sociology, University of Southern California, United States, who discussed the causes of gains and losses in life expectancy in OECD countries.
Dr Catherine Johnson, Lead Research Scientist in Cardiovascular Disease, Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, United States, who presented the global trends in CVD mortality – an update from the Global Burden of Disease Study.
Professor Anton Kunst, Professor of Social Epidemiology, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, who presented an overview of inequalities in CVD mortality and their determinants.
Professor Martin O’Flaherty, Professor of Epidemiology, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, who discussed the trends in CVD drivers and policy options for improving CVD health.
The authors are also grateful to members of the OECD Health Care Quality and Outcomes (HCQO) Working Party who attended the workshop for their time, preparation of the country factsheets, contributions to the discussions, and sharing of their country’s experiences. HCQO members, and some other representatives, from the following 19 countries attended the workshop: Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovenia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The authors would also like to acknowledge the case study material for France, Portugal and the United Kingdom included in this report, kindly provided by Professor Nicolas Danchin, Santé Publique France, Haute Autorité de Santé, the Portuguese Directorate General of Health and Public Health England, respectively.
The report benefited from valuable comments from Richard Murray, Stefano Scarpetta, Mark Pearson, Francesca Colombo, Frederico Guanais and Niek Klazinga. The authors are grateful to Lucy Hulett, Natalie Corry, Christina Kim and Gabriel Di Paolantonio for their respective editorial contributions. Finally, the assistance of several OECD staff during the workshop is gratefully acknowledged. The event was assisted by Hannah Whybrow, Christina Kim and Duniya Dedeyn. The event was chaired by Niek Klazinga and small groups discussions between the participants were facilitated by Michael Padget, Rie Fujisawa, Ian Brownwood and Yevgeniy Goryakin.
This report is organised in seven chapters.
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the key findings resulting from the workshop in what regards international evidence on CVD mortality trends, its drivers and associated policy implications.
Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 present contributions authored by the five invited speakers, to supplement the material in their workshop presentations, which are also available online.
Chapter 2 provides an overview of recent trends in CVD mortality in European countries (authored by Ms Susanne Løgstrup).
Chapter 3 analyses the causes of gains and losses in life expectancy across OECD countries (Professor Jessica Ho).
Chapter 4 outlines an update of global trends in CVD from the Global Burden of Disease Study (Dr Catherine Johnson).
Chapter 5 provides an overview of patterns and determinants of socio-economic inequalities in CVD mortality (Professor Anton Kunst).
Chapter 6 discusses the drivers of CVD mortality and policies for tackling them (Professor Martin O’Flaherty).
Finally, Chapter 7 discusses the key messages and conclusions emanating from the workshop, and the OECD’s and The King’s Fund’s analysis of their implications.
There is also available supplementary material on the OECD webpage, namely: workshop agenda, list of attendees, presentations by the invited speakers, and biographies of the speakers. Please use the link to the webpage to access to this information: https://www.oecd.org/health/is-cardiovascular-disease-slowing-improvements-in-life-expectancy-47a04a11-en.htm.