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. 2021 May 25;21(1):606.
doi: 10.1186/s12885-021-08280-y.

Measuring the global, regional, and national burden of multiple myeloma from 1990 to 2019

Affiliations

Measuring the global, regional, and national burden of multiple myeloma from 1990 to 2019

Linghui Zhou et al. BMC Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a major health concern. Understanding the different burden and tendency of MM in different regions is crucial for formulating specific local strategies. Therefore, we evaluated the epidemiologic patterns and explored the risk factors for MM death.

Methods: Data on MM were collected from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study. We used incidence, mortality, and disability adjusted life-years to estimate the global, regional, and national burden of MM.

Results: In 2019, there were 155,688 (95% UI, 136,585 - 172,577) MM cases worldwide, of which 84,516 (54.3%, 70,924 - 94,910) were of men. The age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) was 1.72/100,000 persons (95% UI, 1.59-1.93) in 1990 and 1.92/100,000 persons (95% UI, 1.68-2.12) in 2019. The number of MM deaths increased 1.19-fold from 51,862 (95% UI, 47,710-58,979) in 1990 to 113,474 (95% UI, 99,527 - 121,735) in 2019; the age-standardized death rate (ASDR) was 1.42/100,000 persons (95% UI, 1.24-1.52) in 2019. In recent 15 years, ASDR showed a steady tendency for men, and a downward tendency for women. Countries with high social-demographic indexes exhibited a higher ASIR and ASDR. Australasia, North America, and Western Europe had the highest ASIR and ASDR, with 46.3% incident cases and 41.8% death cases. Monaco had the highest ASIR and ASDR, which was almost half as high as the second highest country Barbados. In addition, United Arab Emirates and Qatar had the largest growth multiple in ASIR and ASDR, which was twice the third country Djibouti.

Conclusions: Globally, incident and death MM cases have more than doubled over the past 30 years. The increasing global burden may continue with population aging, whereas mortality may continue to decrease with the progression of medical technology. The global burden pattern of MM was diverse, therefore specific local strategies based on different burden patterns for MM are necessary.

Keywords: Death; Disability adjusted life-years; Global burden of disease; Incidence; Multiple myeloma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The ASIR of multiple myeloma among regions based on SDI in 2019. ASIR: age standardized incidence rate (per 100,000)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Levels and trends in age-standardized incidence and death rates of multiple myeloma across regions. a The age-standardized incidence rates of multiple myeloma in 2019. b The percentage change in age-standardized incidence rate of multiple myeloma from 1990 to 2019. c The age-standardized death rate of multiple myeloma in 2019. d The percentage change in age-standardized death rate of multiple myeloma from 1990 to 2019. GBD = Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Age-standardized rates of incidence (a) and death (b) of multiple myeloma worldwide, 2019. ASIR: age standardized incidence rate; ASDR: age standardized death rate
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Age-specific counts and rates of multiple myeloma by sex, 2019. a: incidence; b: death; c: DALYs. DALYs: disability-adjusted life-years
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Age distribution of multiple myeloma by years or regions. a: by years in incidence cases; b: by regions in incidence cases; c: by years in death cases; d: by regions in death cases
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Joinpoint regression analysis of age-standardized death rates (ASDR) among SDI regions from 1990 to 2019. APC: annual percent change. * Indicates that the APC is significant different from zero at the alpha = 0.05 level. a: global; b: high SDI; c: high-middle SDI; d: middle SDI; e: middle-low SDI; f: low SDI. SDI, socio-demographic index. ASDR, age-standardized death rate
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
The percentage of age-standardized deaths and DALYs attributable to high body-mass index by regions, 2019

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