Global burden and trends of leukemia attributable to high body mass index risk in adults over the past 30 years

Abstract

Background: High BMI (Body Mass Index) is a significant factor impacting health, with a clear link to an increased risk of leukemia. Research on this topic is limited. Understanding the epidemiological trends of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk is crucial for disease prevention and patient support.

Methods: We obtained the data from the Global Burden of Disease Study, analyzing the ASR (age-standardized rates), including ASDR (age-standardized death rate) and age-standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) rate, and estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) by gender, age, country, and region from 1990 to 2019.

Results: In 2019, deaths and DALYs have significantly increased to 21.73 thousand and 584.09 thousand. The global age-standardized death and DALYs rates have slightly increased over the past 30 years (EAPCs: 0.34 and 0.29). Among four common leukemia subtypes, only CML (Chronic Myeloid Leukemia) exhibited a significant decrease in ASDR and age-standardized DALYs rate, with EAPC of -1.74 and -1.52. AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia) showed the most pronounced upward trend in ASDR, with an EAPC of 1.34. These trends vary by gender, age, region, and national economic status. Older people have been at a significantly greater risk. Females globally have borne a higher burden. While males have shown an increasing trend. The regions experiencing the greatest growth in ASR were South Asia. The countries with the largest increases were Equatorial Guinea. However, It is worth noting that there may be variations among specific subtypes of leukemia. Regions with high Socio-demographic Index (SDI) have had the highest ASR, while low-middle SDI regions have shown the greatest increase in these rates. All ASRs values have been positively correlated with SDI, but there has been a turning point in medium to high SDI regions.

Conclusions: Leukemia attributable to high BMI risk is gradually becoming a heavier burden globally. Different subtypes of leukemia have distinct temporal and regional patterns. This study's findings will provide information for analyzing the worldwide disease burden patterns and serve as a basis for disease prevention, developing suitable strategies for the modifiable risk factor.

Keywords: disease prevention; epidemiological trends; global burden disease; high BMI; leukemia.

Figure 1

Global trends in death and DALYs for leukemia attributable to high BMI risk from 1990 to 2019. (A) The number of death cases for different subtypes of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk from 1990 to 2019. (B) The number of DALYs cases for different subtypes of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk from 1990 to 2019. (C) ASDR and EAPC in different subtypes of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk from 1990 to 2019. (D) Age-standardized DALYs rates and EAPC in different subtypes of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk from 1990 to 2019. (E) The proportion of death cases for different subtypes of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk from 1990 to 2019. (F) The proportion of DALYs cases for different subtypes of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk from 1990 to 2019.

Figure 2

Global death and DALYs for leukemia attributable to high BMI risk by age and sex. (A) ASDR in different subtypes of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk by age for both sexes combined in 1990 and 2019. (B) Age-standardized DALYs rates in different subtypes of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk by age for both sexes combined in 1990 and 2019. (C) The sex ratio of different subtypes of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk death cases from 1990 to 2019. (D) The sex ratio of different subtypes of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk DALYs cases from 1990 to 2019. (E) The ratio of male to female in different subtypes of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk death cases by age in 1990 and 2019. (F) The ratio of male to female in different subtypes of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk DALYs cases by age in 1990 and 2019.

Figure 3

The global trends in leukemia attributable to high BMI risk by regions. (A) The ASDR of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk at a regional level in 1990 and 2019. (B) The age-standardized DALYs rates of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk at a regional level in 1990 and 2019. (C) The EAPC in ASDR of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk from 1990 to 2019, by subtypes and by regions. (D) The EAPC in age-standardized DALYs rates of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk from 1990 to 2019, by subtypes and by regions. Blue indicates a downward trend and Red indicates an upward trend.

Figure 4

The global trends of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk by countries and territories. (A) The ASDR of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk in 2019. (B) The EAPC in ASDR of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk from 1990 to 2019. (C) The age-standardized DALYs rates of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk in 2019. (D) The EAPC in age-standardized DALYs rates of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk from 1990 to 2019.

Figure 5

The ASDRs of different subtypes of leukemia attributable to high BMI risk in 2019 and the corresponding EAPC from 1990 to 2019. (A) AML (B) ALL (C) CML (D) CLL (E) other leukemia. AML acute myeloid leukemia, ALL acute lymphoblastic leukemia, CML chronic myeloid leukemia, CLL chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Figure 6

The correlation between EAPC of ASR and ASR of 1990 in 204 countries or territories. (A) The correlation between the EAPC of ASDR and ASDR of 1990 in 204 countries or territories. (B) The correlation between the EAPC of age-standardized DALYs rate and age-standardized DALYs rate of 1990 in 204 countries or territories.

Figure 7

The correlation between ASR of 2019 and SDI from 1990 to 2019 in leukemia attributable to high BMI risk. (A) The correlation between ASDR of 2019 and SDI from 1990 to 2019 in leukemia attributable to high BMI risk in 21 regions. (B) The correlation between age-standardized DALYs rate and SDI from 1990 to 2019 in leukemia attributable to high BMI risk in 21 regions. (C) The correlation between ASDR and SDI from 1990 to 2019 in leukemia attributable to high BMI risk in 204 countries and territories. (D) The correlation between age-standardized DALYs rate and SDI from 1990 to 2019 in leukemia attributable to high BMI risk in 204 countries and territories.