Metabolic Disease Burden Rises in Southern Italy Despite National Declines

Non-communicable diseases currently account for approximately 61.4 percent of all disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), a composite metric representing the sum of years of life lost due to premature mortality and years lived with a disability, worldwide [1]. Within the European clinical landscape, the assessment of these burdens is essential for prioritizing interventions for chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and chronic kidney disease [2, 3]. Despite the availability of cost-effective primary prevention strategies, the rising prevalence of metabolic and environmental risk factors continues to challenge modern health systems [4, 5]. Clinicians frequently manage these risks within diverse populations where socioeconomic status and geographic location significantly influence individual disease trajectories [6, 7]. A detailed systematic analysis now provides a longitudinal view of how these attributable risks have shifted across the Italian peninsula over the last three decades.