Global Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease burden attributable to air pollution from 1990 to 2019

Background

The disease burden attributable to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is significant worldwide. Some studies have linked exposure to air pollution to COPD, but there has been little research on this.

Methods

We aimed to assess the COPD-related disease burden attributable to air pollution from multiple epidemiological perspectives. This study conducted a three-stage analysis. Firstly, we reported on the burden of disease worldwide in 2019 by different subgroups including sex, age, region, and country. Secondly, we studied the trends in disease burden from 1990 to 2019. Finally, we explored the association of some national indicators with disease burden to look for risk factors.

Results

In 2019, the death number of COPD associated with air pollution accounted for 2.32% of the total global death, and the number of DALY accounted for 1.12% of the global DALY. From 1990 to 2019, the death number of COPD associated with air pollution increased peaked at 1.41 million in 1993, fluctuated, and then declined. We found the same temporal pattern of DALY. The corresponding age-standardized rates had been falling. At the same time, the burden of COPD associated with air pollution was also affected by some national indicators.

Conclusions

This study indicated that air pollution-related COPD contributed to a significant global disease burden. We called for health policymakers to take action and interventions targeting vulnerable countries and susceptible populations.