Key result
Age-standardized CVD DALYs in China drop ~60% between 1990 and 2023.
Why the study?
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of disability and death in China, prompting an analysis of trends in CVD burden and modifiable risk factors from 1990 to 2023.
Observational
Yes
Age-standardized DALYs for cardiovascular diseases in China decreased by 59.7% from 1990 to 2023, but the absolute burden remains massive with 4.5 million deaths in 2023, driven largely by high systolic blood pressure and other modifiable risk factors.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Marked reduction in age-standardized CVD DALYs signals progress; leaves open how to curb China's persistent absolute burden.
BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of disability and death in China. OBJECTIVES: The authors aimed to analyze the trends in the CVD burden across mainland China from 1990 to 2023 and to assess the contribution of modifiable risk factors. METHODS: We utilized data from the Global Burden of Disease 2023 analysis for mainland China, which involved estimates of overall and cause-specific health metrics for CVDs. Advanced statistical modeling and a wide array of data sources were used to evaluate the attributable burden of modifiable risk factors. RESULTS: In 2023, there were 11.1 million incident cases, 135.8 million prevalent cases, and 4.5 million deaths from all CVDs in China. CVDs with the highest incidence were lower extremity peripheral arterial disease, ischemic stroke, ischemic heart disease, intracerebral hemorrhage, and atrial fibrillation and flutter. The top contributors to disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were ischemic heart disease, intracerebral hemorrhage, ischemic stroke, hypertensive heart disease, and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Age-standardized DALYs for CVDs significantly decreased from 10,065.7 per 100,000 population in 1990 to 4,059.3 in 2023, representing a decrease of 59.7%. The proportion of DALYs due to ischemic CVDs increased, whereas the proportion for hemorrhagic CVDs declined during 1990-2023. The 5 leading risk factors for CVDs were high systolic blood pressure, ambient particulate matter pollution, high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, smoking, and lead exposure in 2023. CONCLUSIONS: Despite notable progress in reducing age-standardized DALYs of CVDs in China, the overall enduring burden and the rising challenge of specific risk factors highlight the urgent need for tailored public health strategies.
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Shi et al. (2026) conducted an observational in Cardiovascular diseases. Time period (2023) vs. Time period (1990) was evaluated on Age-standardized DALYs for CVDs per 100,000 population (59.7% decrease). Age-standardized disability-adjusted life years for cardiovascular diseases in China decreased by 59.7%, from 10,065.7 per 100,000 in 1990 to 4,059.3 in 2023.
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