Disability and costs of ischemic heart disease attributable to the consumption of trans fatty acids in Brazil

Abstract Objective: To estimate the disability and costs of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) for ischemic heart disease (IHD) attributable to trans fatty acid (TFA) consumption in 2019. Design: This ecological study used secondary data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019 to estimate the years lived with disability (YLDs) from IHD attributable to TFA in Brazil in 2019. Data on direct costs (purchasing power parity: 1 Int$ = R$ 2.280) were obtained from the Hospital and Ambulatory Information Systems of the SUS. Moreover, the total costs in each state were divided by the resident population in 2019 and multiplied by 10,000 inhabitants. The relationship between the socio-demographic index (SDI), disease, and economic burden was investigated. Setting: Brazil and its 27 states. Participants: Adults aged ≥ 25 years of both sexes. Results: IHD attributable to TFA consumption resulted in 11,165 YLDs (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 932–18,462) in 2019 in Brazil. A total of Int$ 54,546,227 (95% UI: 4,505,792–85,561,810) was spent in the SUS in 2019 due to IHD attributable to TFA, with the highest costs of hospitalizations, for males and individuals aged ≥ 50 years or over. The highest costs were observed in Sergipe (Int$ 6,508/10,000; 95% UI: 576–10,265), followed by the two states from the South. Overall, as the SDI increases, expenditures increase. Conclusions: TFA consumption results in a high disease and economic IHD burden in Brazil, reinforcing the need for more effective health policies, such as industrial TFA elimination, following the international agenda.