Burden of non-communicable diseases in the European region: Cross-country comparison between Greece and Albania

Aim: The European region is facing major health challenges attributable to noncommunicable diseases. Non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of premature mortality in Europe. This paper aims to indicate how Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) attributable to tobacco smoking, alcohol use and diet have changed over the past 20 years in Albania and Greece. Moreover, the paper discusses the impact of policies and preventions to reduce the burden of diseases attributable to lifestyle. Methods: Review by using statistics of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). In order to compare the burden of disease (BoD) attributable to lifestyle, the health indicator DALY was used. Statistics were retrieved from the IHME database. Results: Greece and Albania differ in DALYs attributable to tobacco use, alcohol use and diet. Whereas DALYs related to all the three risk factors are decreasing in Greece, Albania experienced increasing DALYs until 2005. Since 2005, DALYs are slightly decreasing in Albania. The greatest gap in DALYs between the countries can be seen for nutritional deficiencies. DALYs attributable to nutritional deficiencies are almost 12 higher in Albania than in Greece. Conclusion: The countries differ in their policies and strategies on the prevention of lifestyle risk factors. Albania is facing changes in lifestyle behaviour since the opening to the West in 1990. The BoD increased in Albania due to lacking policies and health programs on lifestyle characteristics. The awareness about prevention is increasing, but policies are still lacking and are ineffective. Improvements of preventions and policies are needed to tackle the BoD, especially in Albania.