Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Background: Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is induced by chronic alcohol consumption and is a predominant cause of non ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. Here we evaluate the trends of ACM from 1980 to 2021, while focusing on locoregional variations which will help identify the areas with the highest disease burden and guide future investigation into underlying causes.
Methods: Data extraction from the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) study encompassed age-standardized death rates (ASDR), Years of Lost Life (YLL), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The dataset was globally stratified by continent and by World Bank income classification. Joinpoint Regression was employed to determine average annual percentage changes (AAPC).
Results: Globally, the prevalence of alcoholic cardiomyopathy decreased from 1990 to 2021, with an AAPC of -0.80 (95% CI -0.82 to -0.78). However, the ASDR had a fluctuating trend from 1980 to 2021. Intermittent spikes in ASDRs could be observed, with the most prominent ones seen from 1991 to 1994 (Annual Percentage Change =9.71; 95% CI 6.1-11.3) and 2002 to 2005 (Annual Percentage Change =12.54; 95% CI 9.2-14.4). Overall, however, the global ASDR decreased from 1980 (ASDR=1.3) to 2021 (ASDR=0.7) with an AAPC of -1.48 (95% CI - 1.5 to -1.3). Similarly, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and age-standardized Years of Lost Life (YLL) also declined over this period [(AAPC=-1.03; 95% CI -1.25 to -0.82) and AAPC= -1.14 (95% CI -1.26 to -1.03) respectively]. In continent-wise analysis, North America and Europe had higher ASDRs, while Asia and Africa had lower ASDRs throughout the analysis. It was observed that irrespective of ASDRs, all continents independently had a decreasing trend in alcoholic cardiomyopathy mortality. According to world bank income levels, low- and lower- middle-income countries had higher death rates than high- and upper-middle income countries.
Conclusions: Global trends in alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACM) from 1980 to 2021 reveal fluctuating mortality rates, with substantial intermittent surges. Despite declining DALYs and prevalence, low-income and lower-middle-income nations have persistently high death rates which underscores the need for targeted interventions to address this concerning disparity.