Trends in global burden of diseases attributable to lead exposure in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019

Nan Zhou; Yue Huang; Mingma Li; Lu Zhou; Hui Jin

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.1036398

Trends in global burden of diseases attributable to lead exposure in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019

Front Public Health. 2022 Nov 23:10:1036398. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1036398. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Nan Zhou¹, Yue Huang¹, Mingma Li¹, Lu Zhou², Hui Jin¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
² Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing, China.

Abstract

Background: Lead hazards are ubiquitous in the environment, and lead exposure has been proved to damage human health. Nevertheless, there is limited data on the global burden of diseases attributable to lead exposure. In this study, we evaluated the temporal-spatial trend of disease burden caused by lead exposure in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019.

Methods: Based on Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019, deaths, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) and DALYs rate (ASDR) were estimated by region, country, sex and age. The estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) was calculated to assess the temporal trends of ASMR and ASDR between 1990 and 2019.

Results: Global deaths increased from 0.53 (95% UI: 0.31, 0.77) to 0.90 (95% UI: 0.55, 1.29) million, and the number of DALYs increased from 16.02 (95% UI: 10.32, 22.17) to 21.68 (95% UI: 13.81, 30.30) million between 1990 and 2019. China, India and Bangladesh were top three countries with the largest number of deaths and DALYs in 2019. The ASMR (per 100,000 population) decreased from 14.47 (95% UI: 8.40, 21.43) to 11.48 (95% UI: 7.00, 16.49) with EAPC of -0.75 (95% UI: -0.87, -0.64), and the ASDR (per 100,000 population) decreased from 378.01 (95% UI: 240.55, 524.18) to 267.52 (95% UI: 170.57, 373.44) with EAPC of -1.19 (95% UI: -1.32, -1.07). Most of disease burden of lead exposure occurred in the men and elderly population. Stroke and ischemic heart disease were two key sources of disease burden of lead exposure. Also, a negative association between sociodemographic index (SDI) and disease burden of lead exposure was observed.

Conclusions: Lead exposure poses a significant disease burden globally, and is still a great threat to public health. Primary prevention measures of reducing lead exposure in the environment are essential.

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases; chronic kidney disease; global burden; idiopathic developmental intellectual disability; lead exposure.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Bangladesh
China
Cost of Illness*
Humans
India
Lead*
Male

Substances

Lead