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. 2022 Oct 29;21(1):105.
doi: 10.1186/s12940-022-00914-3.

Estimating the burden of diseases attributable to lead exposure in the North Africa and Middle East region, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease study 2019

Malihe Rezaee #  1   2   3 , Zahra Esfahani #  1   4 , Seyed Aria Nejadghaderi  1 , Mohsen Abbasi-Kangevari  1 , Sahar Saeedi Moghaddam  1 , Ali Ghanbari  1 , Azin Ghamari  1 , Ali Golestani  1 , Elmira Foroutan Mehr  1 , Ameneh Kazemi  1 , Rosa Haghshenas  1 , Mahsa Moradi  5 , Farzad Kompani  6 , Negar Rezaei  7   8 , Bagher Larijani  9
Affiliations

Estimating the burden of diseases attributable to lead exposure in the North Africa and Middle East region, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease study 2019

Malihe Rezaee et al. Environ Health. .

Abstract

Background: Lead exposure (LE) and its attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) have declined in the recent decade; however, it remains one of the leading public health concerns, particularly in regions with low socio-demographic index (SDI) such as the North Africa and Middle East (NAME) region. Hence, we aimed to describe the attributable burden of the LE in this region.

Methods: Data on deaths, DALYs, years of life lost (YLLs), and years lived with disability (YLDs) attributable to LE in the NAME region and its 21 countries from 1990 to 2019 were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study.

Results: In 2019, the age-standardized death and DALY rates attributable to LE were 23.4 (95% uncertainty interval: 15.1 to 33.3) and 489.3 (320.5 to 669.6) per 100,000 in the region, respectively, both of which were higher among men than women. The overall age-standardized death and DALY rates showed 27.7% and 36.8% decreases, respectively, between 1990 and 2019. In this period, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey had the highest decreases in the age-standardized death and DALY rates, while Afghanistan, Egypt, and Yemen had the lowest ones. Countries within high SDI quintile had lower attributable burden to LE compared with the low SDI quintile. Cardiovascular diseases and chronic kidney diseases accounted for the 414.2 (258.6 to 580.6) and 28.7 (17.7 to 41.7) LE attributable DALYs per 100,000 in 2019, respectively. The attributable YLDs was 46.4 (20.7 to 82.1) per 100,000 in 2019, which shows a 25.7% reduction (-30.8 to -22.5%) over 1990-2019.

Conclusions: The overall LE and its attributed burden by cause have decreased in the region from 1990-2019. Nevertheless, the application of cost-effective and long-term programs for decreasing LE and its consequences in NAME is needed.

Keywords: Death; Disability-adjusted life years; Global Burden of Disease; Lead exposure; Middle East; North Africa.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Time trend of age-standardized rate of deaths, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), years of life lost (YLLs), and years lived with disability (YLDs) attributable to lead exposure in North Africa and Middle East from 1990 to 2019, by sex
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Comparison the ranking of age-standardized rate of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to lead exposure in North Africa and Middle East countries for both sexes between 1990 and 2019
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Rate of deaths, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), years of life lost (YLLs), and years lived with disability (YLDs) attributable to lead exposure in North Africa and Middle East in 1990 and 2019, by sex and age
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Time trend of age-standardized rate of deaths, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), years of life lost (YLLs), and years lived with disability (YLDs) attributable to lead exposure in North Africa and Middle East region and its 21 countries from 1990 to 2019, by sociodemographic index (SDI) quintiles
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Age-standardized rate of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of underlying causes attributable to lead exposure in North Africa and Middle East in 1990 and 2019
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