Incidence, Prevalence, and Mortality of Four Major Chronic Non-communicable Diseases — China, 1990-2017

Abstract

Introduction Chronic and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have become an important public health concern in China. We aimed to estimate the incidence, prevalence, and mortality of four major NCDs including cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, chronic respiratory diseases (CRD), and diabetes in China during 1990-2017. Methods The general analytic framework of Global Burden of Diseases Study 2017 (GBD 2017) was applied. Data from Disease Surveillance Point System, censuses, and Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Cause-of-Death Reporting System were used for mortality estimates. National surveys, cancer registries, and published studies were used for incidence and prevalence estimates. Results In 2017, new cases for CVD, cancer, and diabetes were 13.5, 4.6, and 3.3 million, an increase of 120.4%, 159.7%, and 57.3% respectively compared with 1990. There were 9.6 million incident cases for CRD in 2017, a 4.9% decrease compared with 1990. A total of 8.1 million people died from cancer, CVD, CRD, and diabetes in China in 2017. There was a substantial decline in age-standardized mortality rate for CRD and a steady but slow decline for CVD and cancer. During 1990-2017, the age-standardized prevalence rate increased by 7.4%, 135.2%, and 17.0% for CVD, cancer, and diabetes respectively. Conclusions and Implications for Public Health Practice The accumulated prevalence of the four major NCDs are increasing but the age-standardized mortality rate for CVD, cancer, and CRD has been on a decline during 1990-2017. More effective intervention strategies should be developed to deal with the continuously increasing burden caused by NCDs in China.