ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1611901
This article is part of the Research TopicAlleviating Age-Related Disease BurdenView all 3 articles
Burden of ageing spectrum of diseases in China, 1990-2021: a systematic analysis of Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- 2Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen Campus, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- 3The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, SAR China
- 4Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, China
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Population aging represents a pressing challenge for China, given its vast population and the growing proportion of adults aged 65 years and older. The study aimed to assess burden of ageing spectrum of diseases in China from 1990 to 2021.The main outcome measures were disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), summary exposure values (SEVs), and attributable risk. The average annual percent change (AAPC) in number and age standardized incidence rate (ASR) were calculated to quantify the temporal trends. The decomposition analysis was utilized to assess the impact of population aging on the burden of disease.From 1990 to 2021, The ASR of all-cause DALYs in China decreased by 35.94% overall and by 33.99% among individuals ≥65 years. However, the number of DALYs attributed to population ageing among people aged 65 and older has been increasing by 10.45 million. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, and ischemic heart disease are most significantly affected by the aging trend. Notably, the elderly population exhibited the most pronounced increase in HIV/AIDS-related DALYs, especially in the 70-74 years group (AAPC: 7.96, 95% CI 6.69, 9.24). Additionally, notable changes in COVID-19-related DALYs became evident beginning in 2019.Regarding risk factors, particulate matter pollution, smoking, and high sodium diets emerged as the top three contributors to health risks among the elderly.To address burden of ageing spectrum of diseases, China should leverage complementary roles of public and private insurance to manage cardiovascular and pulmonary disease, promote healthy environments and diets and prioritize prevention of HIV/AIDS.
Keywords: Ageing, disease burden, risk factor, China, DALYs
Received: 15 Apr 2025; Accepted: 07 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yang, Xing, Gao, Guo and WU. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Cui Guo, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, 999077, Hong Kong, SAR China
Dongze WU, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, China
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