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. 2018 May;63(Suppl 1):97-108.
doi: 10.1007/s00038-017-1007-0. Epub 2017 Aug 3.

Burden of lower respiratory infections in the Eastern Mediterranean Region between 1990 and 2015: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

GBD 2015 Eastern Mediterranean Region Lower Respiratory Infections Collaborators
Collaborators

Burden of lower respiratory infections in the Eastern Mediterranean Region between 1990 and 2015: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

GBD 2015 Eastern Mediterranean Region Lower Respiratory Infections Collaborators. Int J Public Health. 2018 May.

Abstract

Objectives: We used data from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study (GBD) to calculate the burden of lower respiratory infections (LRIs) in the 22 countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) from 1990 to 2015.

Methods: We conducted a systematic analysis of mortality and morbidity data for LRI and its specific etiologic factors, including pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae type b, Respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza virus. We used modeling methods to estimate incidence, deaths, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). We calculated burden attributable to known risk factors for LRI.

Results: In 2015, LRIs were the fourth-leading cause of DALYs, causing 11,098,243 (95% UI 9,857,095-12,396,566) DALYs and 191,114 (95% UI 170,934-210,705) deaths. The LRI DALY rates were higher than global estimates in 2015. The highest and lowest age-standardized rates of DALYs were observed in Somalia and Lebanon, respectively. Undernutrition in childhood and ambient particulate matter air pollution in the elderly were the main risk factors.

Conclusions: Our findings call for public health strategies to reduce the level of risk factors in each age group, especially vulnerable child and elderly populations.

Keywords: DALY; Eastern Mediterranean Region; Incidence; Lower respiratory infection; Mortality.

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Conflict of interest statement

This manuscript reflects original work that has not previously been published in whole or in part and is not under consideration elsewhere. All authors have read the manuscript and have agreed that the work is ready for submission and accept responsibility for its contents. The authors of this paper have complied with all ethical standards and do not have any conflicts of interest to disclose at the time of submission. The funding source played no role in the design of the study, the analysis and interpretation of data, and the writing of the paper.

Dr. Carl Abelardo T. Antonio reports Grants and personal fees from Johnson and Johnson (Philippines), Inc. outside the submitted work. Dr. Jasvinder Singh serves as the principal investigator for an investigator-initiated study funded by Horizon Pharmaceuticals through a grant to DINORA, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) entity. Dr. Singh is a member of the executive of OMERACT, an organization that develops outcome measures in rheumatology and receives arms-length funding from 36 companies; a member of the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) Annual Meeting Planning Committee (AMPC); Chair of the ACR Meet-the-Professor, Workshop and Study Group Subcommittee; and a member of the Veterans Affairs Rheumatology Field Advisory Committee. Other authors have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Age-standardized death rates of lower respiratory tract infections per 100,000 population in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Global Burden of Disease study, 2015
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Number of lower respiratory tract infection deaths by etiologic causes in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Global Burden of Disease study, 2015
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Trends of age-standardized (AS) and all-age (AA) DALY rates of lower respiratory infections in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and the world, Global Burden of Disease study, 1990–2015
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Age-standardized disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) rates of lower respiratory tract infections per 100,000 population in the countries of Eastern Mediterranean Region, Global Burden of Disease study, 2015
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) rates for different etiologies of lower respiratory tract infections in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Global Burden of Disease study, 2015
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributable to risk factors of lower respiratory tract infections, Eastern Mediterranean Region, Global Burden of Disease study, 2015
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