Sex difference in the burden of rheumatic heart disease: Insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Shushu Jiang, Jiakai Zhang, Menghao Shi, Yin Dong, Zhaohui Wang and Cheng Wang

PLOS ONE, 2025, vol. 20, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: Introduction: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) shows significant sex differences in disease burden. This study assesses these differences using data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 (GBD 2021). Methods: We extracted sex-specific indicators for RHD from the GBD database, including disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), mortality, and prevalence. Trends were analyzed using estimated annual percentage change (EAPC), and sex differences were assessed via female-by-male ratios. Results: From 1990 to 2021, females consistently had higher age-standardized DALYs (ASDR), mortality (ASMR), and prevalence rates (ASPR) than males. These differences were particularly pronounced in specific regions and age groups. In 2021, female ASDR and ASMR in Andorra were over three times higher than males, while in the Cook Islands, they were less than half of males’ rates. In the United States Virgin Islands, females aged 10–19 had an ASMR only 0.01 times that of males, whereas in the United Arab Emirates, females aged 70–89 had ASDR and ASMR five times higher than males. Overall, the female-by-male ratios in ASDR, ASMR, and ASPR have shown a yearly decline. However, these ratios are positively correlated with the Sociodemographic Index (SDI), with correlation coefficients of 0.1 for ASDR, 0.22 for ASMR, and 0.47 for ASPR. Conclusion: Our study reveals a persistent global sex disparity in RHD burden from 1990 to 2021, with females generally experiencing a heavier burden. These findings underscore the need for sex-specific approaches in RHD prevention and treatment and further research into the underlying factors driving these disparities.

Date: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0334914 (text/html)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id= ... 34914&type=printable (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0334914

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0334914

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in PLOS ONE from Public Library of Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by plosone ().