Trend of Mortality and Years of Life Lost Due to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in China and Its Provinces, 2005-2020

Background: To examine trends in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) mortality and years of life lost (YLL) due to COPD for all provinces in China during 2005-2020. Methods: Data for COPD mortality were derived from China National Mortality Surveillance System (NMSS). We analyzed the numbers and age-standardized rates of death and YLL due to COPD in China, during 2005-2020. We carried out decomposition analysis to analyze the drivers of change in COPD deaths during the study period. Results: The age-standardized mortality rate of COPD in China decreased significantly from 99.5/100,000 in 2005 to 50.5/100,000 in 2020. Similar trend was seen in the age -standardized YLL rate. The mortality rate increased with age. During 2005-2020, the age -standardized mortality rate decreased in all provinces (except for Tibet) with the largest decline in Jilin (-77.8%), Henan (-68.4%) and Fujian (-67.1%). The decreased number of deaths was decomposed as population growth (8.5%) and population ageing (69.7%) with offset by decline of age-specific mortality (-87.5%). Conclusion: COPD remains an important public health problem in China, though significant reductions of COPD mortality and YLL rate were observed. Vigorous prevention and control strategies should be enhanced to improve the quality of life of COPD patients and reduce the premature death caused by COPD in Chinese population.

Automated summary

During the period of 2005-2020, the age-standardized mortality rate of COPD in China decreased significantly, with the most significant declines seen in Jilin, Henan, and Fujian provinces. The decrease in COPD deaths was attributed to population aging, while the mortality rate increased with age. Vigorous prevention and control strategies are needed to improve the quality of life for COPD patients and reduce premature deaths in the Chinese population.