Cardiovascular Health Implications of Worsening Economic Indices in Nigeria: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Poor economic indices are implicated in adverse health outcomes. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally with more impact in low- and middle-income countries. Despite some documented associations between worsening economic indices and cardiovascular health, there is however knowledge gap on this topic in this environment. We conducted a narrative review to provide an overview of the impact of dwindling economy and cardiovascular health in Nigeria. A comprehensive search of electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar was conducted. The search terms were cardiovascular health, economic indices, and Nigeria. Inclusion criteria were studies published in English language between 2010 and 2021. There is limited knowledge on the association between worsening economic indices and cardiovascular health in Nigeria. The Nigerian government’s spending on health care was less than the recommended 15% of the budget. There was a decline in gross domestic product from 5.31% in 2011 to 3.65% in 2021 and a rise in the inflation rate and unemployment rate from 10.84% and 3.77% to 16.95% and 9.79%, respectively, over this period. The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia, which are the leading causes of cardiovascular morbidity, increased in the period of study. The exchange rate of naira to other global currencies worsened with attendant rise in the cost of health-care and cardiovascular medications. There is a huge knowledge gap on the impact of worsening economic indices and cardiovascular health. However, the existing evidence showed that the Nigerian government’s spending on health is low and poor economic indices may be related to the worsening cardiovascular health in Nigeria. There is a need for more research to assess the impact of these indices on cardiovascular health.