Burden of maternal disorders in China from 1990 to 2019: Analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

BACKGROUND: Efforts to quantify the burden of maternal disorders at the national and provincial levels are valuable for resource allocation and for development and adoption of public health policies. METHODS: Following the methods of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019, the prevalence of maternal disorders and the resulting disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), years lived with disability(YLD), deaths, and years of life lost (YLL) at the national and provincial levels in China were examined for the 1990–2019 period. Estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) were calculated to estimate the trends of age-standardized rate (ASR) of prevalence, DALYs, death, and YLD due to maternal disorders and its main subcategories from 1990 to 2019. FINDINGS: In 2019, China had an estimated 0.85 million cases of maternal disorders (95% uncertainty interval: 0.65–1.08 million), with a 73% decline in absolute numbers from 1990 to 2019. The ASR of prevalence, DALYs and death for overall maternal disorders showed decreasing trends in China from 1990 to 2019 with the EAPCs being −3.25(95% confidence interval [CI] = −3.86 to −2.64), −8.07 (95% CI= −9.14 to −6.98), and −7.04 (95% CI= −7.99 to −6.07), respectively. The most pronounced decreases in trends in ASR of prevalence, DALYs and death were observed for maternal hemorrhage. Shandong, Hong Kong, Macao showed no significant trends in ASR of prevalence. Notably, the trends in ASR of prevalence due to maternal hypertensive disorders had been stable in China and most provinces. The trends in ASR of DALYs and death decreased the most in Jiangxi province. INTERPRETATION: The disease burden of prevalence, DALYs and death for overall maternal disorders decreased significantly in China from 1990 to 2019, however, the trends in ASR of prevalence due to maternal hypertensive disorders had been stable in China and most provinces. FUNDING: The study is supported by grants from the Innovative Talent Support Plan of the Medical and Health Technology Project in Zhejiang Province (2021422878), Ningbo Science and Technology Project (202002N3152), Ningbo Health Branding Subject Fund (PPXK2018–02), Sanming Project of Medicine in Shen-zhen (SZSM201803080).