Explaining population trends in cardiovascular risk: A comparative analysis of health transitions in South Africa and England

This study uses existing data to identify drivers of recent health transitions in South Africa compared to England. The global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on health is increasing. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in particular are the leading causes of death globally and often share characteristics with many major NCDs. Namely, they tend to increase with age and are influenced by behavioural factors such as diet, exercise and smoking. Risk factors for CVD are routinely measured in population surveys and thus provide an opportunity to study health transitions. Understanding the drivers of health transitions in countries that have not followed expected paths (eg, South Africa) compared to those that exemplified models of 'epidemiologic transition' (eg, England) can generate knowledge on where resources may best be directed to reduce the burden of disease.
In the middle-income country of South Africa, CVD is the second leading cause of death after HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB). Moreover, many of the known risk factors for NCDs like CVD are highly prevalent. Rates of hypertension are high, with recent estimates suggesting that over 40% of adults have high blood pressure. Around 60% of women and 30% of men over 15 are overweight in South Africa. In addition, excessive alcohol consumption, a risk factor for many chronic diseases, is high, with over 30% of men aged 15 and older having engaged in heavy episodic drinking within a 30-day period. Nevertheless, infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS remain the leading cause of death, though many with HIV/AIDS and TB also have NCDs.
In high-income countries like England, by contrast, NCDs such as CVD have been the leading causes of death since the mid-1900s. However, CVD and risk factors such as hypertension have been declining in recent decades due to increased prevention and treatment.
The major drivers of change in disease burden have been attributed to factors including ageing, improved living standards, urbanisation, lifestyle change, and reduced infectious disease. Together, these changes are often referred to as the epidemiologic transition. However, recent research has questioned whether epidemiologic transition theory accurately describes the experience of many low- and middle-income countries or, in fact, of high-income nations such as England. Furthermore, few studies have empirically tested the relative contributions of demographic, behavioural, health and economic factors to trends in disease burden and risk, particularly on the African continent. In addition, many social and environmental factors are overlooked in this research.
To address these gaps, our study will use population measurements of CVD risk derived from surveys in South Africa over nearly 20 years in order to examine whether and to what extent demographic, behavioural, environmental, medical, social and other factors contribute to recent health trends and transitions. We will compare these trends to those occurring in England over the same time period. Thus, this analysis seeks to illuminate the drivers of health transitions in a country which is assumed to still be 'transitioning' to a chronic disease profile but which continues to have a high infectious disease burden (South Africa) as compared to a country which is assumed to have already transitioned following epidemiological transition theory (England). The analysis will employ modelling techniques on pooled cross-sectional data to examine how various factors explain the variation in CVD risk over time in representative population samples from South Africa and England.
The results of this analysis may help to identify some of the main contributors to recent changes in CVD risk in South Africa and England. Such information can be used to pinpoint potential areas for intervention, such as social policy and services, thereby helping to set priorities for governmental and nongovernmental action to control the CVD epidemic and improve health.