Temporal trends in mortality of aortic dissection and rupture in the UK, Japan, the USA and Canada

Objective Aortic dissection and aortic aneurysm rupture are aortic emergencies and their clinical outcomes have improved over the past two decades; however, whether this has translated into lower mortality across countries remains an open question. The purpose of this study was to compare mortality trends from aortic dissection and rupture between the UK, Japan, the USA and Canada. Methods We analysed the WHO mortality database to determine trends in mortality from aortic dissection and rupture in four countries from 2000 to 2019. Age-standardised mortality rates per 100 000 persons were calculated, and annual percentage change was estimated using joinpoint regression. Results Age-standardised mortality rates per 100 000 persons from aortic dissection and rupture in 2019 were 1.04 and 1.80 in the UK, 2.66 and 1.16 in Japan, 0.76 and 0.52 in the USA, and 0.67 and 0.81 in Canada, respectively. There was significantly decreasing trends in age-standardised mortality from aortic rupture in all four countries and decreasing trends in age-standardised mortality from aortic dissection in the UK over the study period. There was significantly increasing trends in mortality from aortic dissection in Japan over the study period. Joinpoint regression identified significant changes in the aortic dissection trends from decreasing to increasing in the USA from 2010 and Canada from 2012. In sensitivity analyses stratified by sex, similar trends were observed. Conclusions Trends in mortality from aortic rupture are decreasing; however, mortality from aortic dissection is increasing in Japan, the USA and Canada. Further study to explain these trends is warranted.