Global morbidity and mortality of lower respiratory infections: A population -based study

Abstract

BackgroundThis study provides a comprehensive, comparative and updated estimates of temporal patterns of lower respiratory infections (LRIs) globally over the past three decades. MethodsThe data on morbidity and mortality of patients with LRIs at the global, regional and national levels were retrieved from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study. ResultsGlobally, the incident cases of LRIs increased from 414,342,866 [95% uncertainty interval (UI):383,529,625 to 449, 086,938]in 1990 to 488,902,504(95% UI: 457,572,987 to 522,635,542)in 2019 with the age standardized incidence rate (ASIR) decreased from 8,276/100,000 persons (95% UI: 7,727 to 8,892) to 6,295/100,000 persons (95% UI: 5,887 to 6,737) between 1990 and 2019. Number of LRIs deaths were 2,493,200 (95% UI: 2,268,184 to 2,736,184) in 2019, a decrease of 24.9% (95% UI: −34.4 to −15.4) in the past 30 years. Meanwhile, the age-standardized death rate (ASDR) declined also from 67/100,000 persons (95% UI: 61 to 73) in 1990 to 34/100,000 persons (95% UI: 31 to 38) in 2019. Moreover, the numbers and age-standardized rates per 100,000 persons of morbidity and mortality varied widely by age, sex, Socio-Demographic Index (SDI) quintiles, and geographical locations in 2019. ConclusionLRIs remain a major public health concern . Some differences in age, sex, SDI quintiles, and geographical locations contribute to LRIs-related global health policy development and health system resource optimization.