Global, regional, and national burden of asthma from 1990 to 2021: a comprehensive analysis of gender and region-level disparities

Asthma is a common chronic airway disease. Analyzing the current global and regional impact of asthma on prevalence, mortality, and Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) can help develop effective strategies for controlling asthma. Data sourced from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) database were utilized to assess global asthma metrics, including prevalence, mortality, and DALYs across 21 regions and 204 countries/territories. The study evaluated gender and Socio-Demographic Index (SDI)-related disparities in these metrics and explored gender-specific asthma risk factors. Decomposition analysis further elucidated gender and regional variations in asthma DALYs, stratified by SDI levels. From 1990-2021, global asthma prevalence decreased by 40%, mortality by 46.1%, and DALYs by 44.55%. Prevalence was higher in males under 19, but females had higher rates post-19. DALYs peaked in children (5–9 years) and elderly (60–64 years). In low-SDI regions, increases in DALYs were due to population growth, affecting females more. Key risk factors were high body mass index (BMI), smoking, and occupational asthma: high BMI affected females more by increasing their asthma-related burden, while smoking and occupational asthma affected males more through a similar elevation in their burden of the disease. The age-standardized rates (ASRs) of asthma burden have declined from 1990 to 2021. South Asia registered the highest absolute asthma mortality (232,800) and DALYs (7.16 million) in 2021. Prevalence and DALYs switch from male predominance