Classifying the Who European Countries by Noncommunicable Diseases and Risk Factors

Abstract

Background: In the twenty-first century, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are a major obstacle to global development and the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals set forth by the United Nations. The WHO (World Health Organization) European Region lacks comprehensive understanding of NCD risk factors, the NCDs they trigger, and the more disadvantaged countries. Objective: This study aims to classify the countries in the European Region at the country level based on NCDs and their key risk factors. Methods: The Ward method, a hierarchical clustering technique based on Manhattan and Euclidean distance measures, was used. The study's dataset comes from the WHO's publicly available NCDs and key risk factors dataset. Results: The European region's countries have been categorized into two clusters based on key NCD risk factors. The second cluster consists of countries with high income levels. On the other hand, in the European Region, countries fall into three clusters based on NCDs. Countries in the third cluster, which consists of low- and upper-middle-income countries, have lower average values in four variables compared to other countries, resulting in lower overall disease prevalence. Counclusions: The prevalence of NCDs varies among clusters, with high-income countries having lower disease prevalence, particularly in diabetes and hypertension. Addressing risk factors and improving healthcare access and infrastructure are crucial in reducing the burden of NCDs in the European region. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.