GBD 2019: Global Burden of 369 Diseases and Injuries in 204 Countries and Territories, 1990-2019

This article from The Lancet examines the prevalence, incidence, and years lived with disability (YLDs) for 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019. The authors note that global health has steadily improved over the last three decades, as measured by age-standardized Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY) rates. The greatest decline in DALYs occurred among the zero to nine age group. The largest drivers of increased DALYs between 1990 and 2019 included six causes primarily affecting older adults and four common from youth through old age. Those that largely affect adults include ischemic heart disease, diabetes, stroke, chronic kidney disease, lung cancer, and age-related hearing loss. Those increasing DALYs beginning in youth include HIV/AIDS, musculoskeletal disorders, low back pain, and depressive disorders. The study further breaks down the top causes of DALYs by age group: zero to nine years, 10 to 24 years, 25 to 49 years, 50 to 74 years, and 74 years and older. Years lived with disability due to noncommunicable diseases and injuries have been a considerable portion of disease burden since 1990, indicating a shift away from the burden caused by infectious diseases. The authors highlight that as disability becomes a larger component of disease burden and health expenditure, investment is needed to identify new and more effective interventions.

Led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, GBD is a global effort with researchers from over 150 countries and territories. IHME and other partnering organizations have developed numerous resources to disseminate and visualize the findings of the GBD studies, data visualizations and interactives, country profiles, policy reports, research articles, infographics, and the GBD Results Tool, which allows users to search GBD data.