From 1990 to 2023, the age-standardized DALY rates of rheumatic, hypertensive, and ischemic heart disease in China all declined, and predictions for 2024-2050 indicate continued declines except for hypertensive heart disease in women, which is projected to rise.
Age-standardized DALY rates (ASDRs) of all three acquired heart diseases in China declined from 1990 to 2023, with the steepest decline for rheumatic heart disease and the smallest for ischemic heart disease.
DALY rates for all three diseases were highest in people aged 80 years and older and lowest in those under 20 years.
Crude DALY rates of rheumatic and hypertensive heart disease declined in all age groups, while ischemic heart disease declined in all age groups except those aged 80 years and older.
Projections for 2024-2050 indicate that ASDRs of rheumatic heart disease and ischemic heart disease will continue to decline in both men and women.
The ASDR of hypertensive heart disease is predicted to decline in men but rise in women from 2024 to 2050.
In 2023, the leading risk factors for hypertensive heart disease burden in China were high systolic blood pressure, high body mass index, and high sodium intake.
In 2023, the leading risk factors for ischemic heart disease burden in China were high systolic blood pressure, lead exposure, and high LDL cholesterol.
The authors conclude that acquired heart disease remains a public health problem and that prevention should target modifiable risk factors, particularly high systolic blood pressure, high BMI, and lead exposure.
This study used Global Burden of Disease data to look at how much illness and early death three kinds of acquired heart disease caused in China between 1990 and 2023. The three were rheumatic heart disease, hypertensive (high blood pressure-related) heart disease, and ischemic heart disease (reduced blood flow to the heart). After accounting for age differences in the population, the burden of all three fell over that period. The fall was largest for rheumatic heart disease (about 6.6% per year), then hypertensive heart disease (about 3.7% per year), and smallest for ischemic heart disease (about 0.8% per year). The burden was highest in people aged 80 and older and lowest in people under 20. Rates fell in nearly every age group, but ischemic heart disease did not decline in those 80 and older. Projections to 2050 suggest rheumatic and ischemic heart disease burdens will keep falling in both sexes. Hypertensive heart disease is projected to keep falling in men but to rise in women. High systolic blood pressure was the top risk factor for both hypertensive and ischemic heart disease in 2023. Other leading factors were high body mass index and high sodium intake for hypertensive heart disease, and lead exposure and high LDL cholesterol for ischemic heart disease. This research suggests that, even with improving trends, these diseases remain important public health problems and that targeting modifiable risk factors could matter. The projections are model-based estimates and may not reflect what actually happens.
Li W, Yuan Q, Zhu Y, Zhang Y, Liu J, Hu Y, et al.. (2026). [Study of changing trends, risk factors and prediction of disease burden of three acquired heart diseases in China, 1990-2023].. Zhonghua liu xing bing xue za zhi = Zhonghua liuxingbingxue zazhi. https://doi.org/10.3760/cma.j.cn112338-20260112-00035