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. 2022 Feb 16:10:823399.
doi: 10.3389/fped.2022.823399. eCollection 2022.

The Burden of Childhood Asthma by Age Group, 1990-2019: A Systematic Analysis of Global Burden of Disease 2019 Data

Daoqi Zhang  1 , Jinxin Zheng  2
Affiliations

The Burden of Childhood Asthma by Age Group, 1990-2019: A Systematic Analysis of Global Burden of Disease 2019 Data

Daoqi Zhang et al. Front Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: Asthma is a common respiratory disease in children. We aimed to update information about the incidence and mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of childhood asthma and provide evidence-based recommendations for childhood asthma prevention.

Methods: Data were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, which was conducted from 1990 to 2019 in 204 countries. First, we estimated incidence, mortality and DALY rates of childhood asthma using a Bayesian meta-regression model. Second, we analyzed the relationship between the sociodemographic index (SDI) and DALYs in different age groups. Third, we studied changes in trends of the age-standardized DALY rate between 1990 and 2019 based on age group, SDI, and risk factors.

Results: Globally, the number of deaths due to childhood asthma and the incidence and DALY rates were 12.9 thousand (95% UI 10.6 to 15.7), 22 million (95% UI 15 to 31), and 5.1 million (95% UI 3.4 to 7.5) in 2019, decreasing by 65.1% (95% UI 47.6 to 72.4), 5.3% (95% UI 2.6 to 8.8) and 30% (95% UI 18 to 41) from those in 1990, respectively. With the exception of high-SDI regions, the age-standardized DALY rate in all age groups in all SDI regions declined. In 2019, the age-standardized DALY rate in 1- to 4-year-old individuals was highest in low-SDI regions and that of 5- to 19-year-old individuals was highest in high-SDI regions. In contrast to low-SDI regions, individuals in high-SDI regions had a higher risk of DALYs due to asthma, except in those aged 1 to 4 years. A high body mass index (BMI) was a stronger risk factor than occupational asthmagens for childhood asthma.

Conclusion: Our findings provide insight into asthma prevention and treatment through the identification of key factors related to childhood asthma. Based on the data available, different risk factors according to age group and region/country suggest different prevention strategies, which is key for preventing childhood asthma.

Keywords: body-mass index; childhood asthma; disability-adjusted life years (DALYs); risk factors; sociodemographic index (SDI).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age-standardized DALYs due to childhood asthma per 100 000 children by country, both sexes, 2019. DALYs, disability adjusted life years.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Age-standardized DALYs due to childhood asthma by 21 GBD regions and expected values by SDI, 1990–2019. DALYs, disability adjusted life years; SDI, sociodemographic index.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Change trends of age-standardized DALYs due to childhood asthma by age group from 1990 to 2019. (A) Change trends of age-standardized DALYs in 15 to 19 year olds. (B) Change trends of age-standardized DALYs in 10 to 14 year olds. (C) Change trends of age-standardized DALYs in 5 to 9 year olds. (D) Change trends of age-standardized DALYs in 1 to 4 year olds. DALYs, disability adjusted life years.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Age-standardized DALYs due to childhood asthma by 21 GBD regions and different age groups, 1990–2019; the black line represents expected values by SDI. (A) Change trends of age-standardized DALYs for regions by SDI in 15 to 19 years olds. (B) Change trends of age-standardized DALYs for regions by SDI in 10 to 14 years olds. (C) Change trends of age-standardized DALYs for regions by SDI in 5 to 9 year olds. (D) Change trends of age-standardized DALYs for regions by SDI in 1 to 4 year olds. DALYs, disability adjusted life years; SDI, sociodemographic index.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Age-standardized DALYs due to childhood asthma by country and SDI, 2019; the black line represents expected values. (A) Change trends of age-standardized DALYs by country and SDI in 15 to 19 year olds. (B) Change trends of age-standardized DALYs by country and SDI in 10 to 14 year olds. (C) Change trends of age-standardized DALYs by country and SDI in 5 to 9 year olds. (D) Change trends of age-standardized DALYs by country and SDI in 1 to 4 year olds. DALYs = disability adjusted life years, SDI, sociodemographic index.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Fraction of age-standardized DALYs attributable to high BMI and occupational asthmagens in childhood asthma by SDI region, 1990–2019. DALYs, disability adjusted life years; SDI, sociodemographic index; BMI, high body mass index.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Fraction of age-standardized DALYs attributable to high BMI and occupational asthmagens in childhood asthma by age group, 1990–2019. DALYs, disability adjusted life years; BMI, high body mass index.
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