New Research Revealed Rates For All Metabolic Diseases Increased From 2000 To 2019, With 160 Million Years Of Life Being Lost To Obesity In Just 2019
A recent study published in Cell Metabolism has found that rates of all metabolic diseases– including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease– are on the rise globally.
The study, conducted by researchers at the National University of Singapore, as well as colleagues in the US and China, analyzed two decades of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) reports to understand the trends and burden of metabolic diseases.
Previous studies using GBD data have centered around the increasing number of deaths, as well as disability-adjusted life years, in relation to individual diseases.
However, within this study, the researchers sought to provide insight into the trends and burden of metabolic diseases since they are so closely related.
The GBD data is collected and analyzed by over 9,000 researchers from 162 countries and territories. The reports captured premature death and disability from 370 diseases and injuries, by age and gender, in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to the present.
So, the data essentially provides a comprehensive look at what kills or disables people across countries, ages, gender, and time.
Using this information, the researchers compared GBD reports from 2000 to 2019. Afterward, the team found that rates of all metabolic diseases have increased– with the most significant increases in disease burden occurring in countries with higher average incomes, fertility rates, and educational attainment.
Although, it is crucial to note that an upward trend in metabolic diseases was seen globally.
Eastern Mediterranean regions had the highest mortality rate from metabolic diseases. This was followed by nations with lower income, fertility averages, and education.
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Interestingly, though, despite metabolic disease rates trending upward, mortality rates from a variety of conditions– such as high cholesterol, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and liver disease– have decreased.
The analysis also revealed how the rate of obesity-related deaths did not significantly change from 2000 to 2019– although it did remain the highest of the studied diseases. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)– or the estimated lost years due to premature mortality– saw a 0.48% annual increase. This accounted for over 160 million years of lost life in just 2019.
Death rates related to type 2 diabetes also remained stable despite a 1.56% annual increase globally from 2000 to 2019. Approximately 6.6 million years of life (DALYs) were lost in 2019 due to type 2 diabetes, with annual increases from 2000 to 2019 landing at 0.77%.
Finally, deaths related to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease actually decreased by 0.63% annually– despite rates of the disease increasing by 0.83% yearly. This meant that in 2019, approximately 4.4 million years of life were lost (DALYs).
This analysis ultimately revealed how, despite death rates remaining stagnant or even decreasing, global disease acquisition is trending upward– pushing the researchers to advocate for more public health attention.
“Urgent attention is needed to address the unchanging mortality rates attributed to metabolic disease and the entrenched [gender]-regional-socioeconomic disparities in mortality,” the team concluded.
To read the study’s complete findings, visit the link here.
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