Despite declining age-standardized rates, the absolute burden of vascular intestinal disorders escalates globally and in China, with disparities disproportionately affecting elderly women and younger males.
Global age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of vascular intestinal disorders declined from 1990 to 2021.
China's age-standardized incidence rate of vascular intestinal disorders also declined over the study period.
Significant gender disparities were observed in vascular intestinal disorder incidence and mortality.
Age disparities were a prominent feature of the vascular intestinal disorder burden.
Despite declining age-standardized rates, the absolute burden of vascular intestinal disorders increased both globally and in China.
Socio-demographic index was included as a subgroup variable in the analysis of vascular intestinal disorder burden.
This research suggests that vascular intestinal disorders (VIDs)—conditions where insufficient blood flow to the intestines causes tissue damage, ischemia, or inflammation—have become less common on a per-person basis both globally and in China over the past three decades. Using data from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study, researchers found that the age-standardized incidence rate dropped from about 18.81 to 15.98 per 100,000 people worldwide, and from 5.92 to 5.03 per 100,000 in China, between 1990 and 2021. However, because populations are aging and growing, the total number of people affected has actually increased substantially—with China's absolute case count nearly doubling over the same period. The study also found notable differences by age and sex. Younger men were more likely to develop VID and more likely to die from it compared to younger women, while older women (aged 75 and above) bore a disproportionately high share of illness and death. This suggests that the risk profile for these conditions changes over the course of a lifetime and differs meaningfully between men and women, which has implications for how screening and prevention efforts should be targeted. This research matters because it highlights a gap between improving population-level rates and a worsening overall burden driven by demographic change. Even as medical advances and public health measures have reduced the per-person risk of VID, the sheer growth and aging of populations means that more people than ever are living with or dying from these conditions. The authors emphasize the need for better diagnostics, equitable healthcare access, and targeted prevention strategies—particularly for elderly women and younger men—as part of broader efforts to address non-communicable diseases.
Zeng L, Li B, Gao J, He S, Huang L. (2026). Incidence Trends and Disease Burden of Vascular Intestinal Disorders: A Population-Based Study in China and Worldwide from 1990 to 2021.. Vascular health and risk management. https://doi.org/10.2147/VHRM.S609512