Burden and trends of iodine deficiency in Asia from 1990 to 2019

Abstract

ObjectivesUnderstanding iodine deficiency (ID) burdens and trends in Asia can help guide effective intervention strategies. This study aims to report the incidence, prevalence, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of ID in 48 Asian countries during the period 1990–2019. Study designData on ID were retrieved from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 and estimated by age, sex, geographical region, and sociodemographic index (SDI). MethodsThe estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) was calculated to evaluate the changing trend of age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR), and age-standardized DALYs rate (ASDR) related to ID during the period 1990–2019. ResultsIn Asia, there were 126,983,965.8 cases with 5,466,213.1 new incidence and 1,765,995.5 DALYs of ID in 2019. Between 1999 and 2019, the EAPC in ASIR, ASPR and ASDR were −0.6 (95% confidence interval [CI], −0.8 to −0.4), −0.9 (95% CI, −1.2 to −0.7), and −1.6 (95% CI, −1.8 to −1.5), respectively. Malaysia charted the largest decrease in ASIR, ASPR, and ASDR (82.4%, 85.3%, and 80.9% separately), whereas the Philippines and Pakistan were the only two countries that witnessed an increase in ASIR and ASPR. ID burdens were more pronounced in women, countries located to the south of the Himalayas, and low-middle SDI regions. ConclusionsThe incidence, prevalence, and DALYs of ID in Asia substantially decreased from 1990 to 2019. Women and low-middle SDI countries have relatively high ID burdens. Governments need to pay constant attention to the implementation and monitoring of universal salt iodization.