An analysis of prevalence, disability-adjusted life years of asthma in China: results from the GBD Study 2019 of the G20

Abstract

Abstract Background The credible materials about the burden of asthma in China compared to the others in the Group of Twenty (G20) remains unavailable. Methods Following the popular analysis strategy used in the Global Burden of Disease Study, the age-, sex-, country-specific prevalence, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of asthma in China were analyzed. Meanwhile, the comparison in trends between China and other countries in the G20 was also evaluated. Results In 2019, asthma was the 8th leading cause of the DALYs burden of 369 diseases in China. From 1990 to 2019, the age-standardized prevalence and DALYs rates of asthma in China decreased by 14% and 51%, respectively, and the decline rate of DALYs was much higher than the global average (-51%: -43%). It is worth noting that the overall population age-standardized DALYs rate of asthma in China was the lowest in the G20 during 2019 (102.81, 95%UI: (72.30,147.42)/100,000). Moreover, the age-standardized asthma prevalence rate peak in both childhood (178.14, 95%UI: (90.50, 329.01)/100,000) and the elderly (541.80, 95%UI: (397.79, 679.92)/100,000), with subjects in the 5–9 years old interval being a constant focus of our attention. Conclusions The disease burden of asthma varied greatly by gender and age over the past 30 years. In contrast to increasing burden in most other G20 countries, the age-standardized prevalence rate of asthma shows a significant decreasing trend in China, however, the age-standardized DALYs rate shows a fluctuating change, and even shows a rebound trend in recent years.