Logo image
Back
Global, regional, and national burden of chronic respiratory diseases and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 1990-2023: a Global Burden of Disease study
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Global, regional, and national burden of chronic respiratory diseases and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 1990-2023: a Global Burden of Disease study

Jiyeon Oh, Soeun Kim, Yesol Yim, Min Seo Kim, Simon I Hay, Jae Il Shin, Dong Keon Yon and GBD 2023 Global Chronic Respiratory Disease and Covid Collaborators
Nature medicine, v 32(1), pp 197-223
01 Jan 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-04077-9
PMID: 41495401
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Adult Aged Asthma - epidemiology Asthma - mortality Chronic Disease COVID-19 - epidemiology COVID-19 - mortality COVID-19 - virology Female Global Burden of Disease - trends Humans Lung Diseases, Interstitial - epidemiology Lung Diseases, Interstitial - mortality Male Middle Aged Pandemics Pneumoconiosis - epidemiology Pneumoconiosis - mortality Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - epidemiology Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - mortality Risk Factors Sarcoidosis, Pulmonary - epidemiology Sarcoidosis, Pulmonary - mortality SARS-CoV-2 ESI Highly Cited Paper (Incites) Global Health
Chronic respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, pneumoconiosis, interstitial lung disease (ILD) and pulmonary sarcoidosis, are major global causes of mortality and morbidity. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced acute respiratory health, its impact on chronic respiratory conditions remains unclear. We estimated the global, regional and national burden of chronic respiratory diseases from 1990 to 2023, including risk factors, and evaluated how these burdens have shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023. In 2023, chronic respiratory diseases accounted for 569.2 million (95% uncertainty interval (UI), 508.8-639.8) cases and 4.2 million (3.6-5.1) deaths. The age-standardized death rate declined by 25.7% globally from 1990 to 2023 despite an increase in ILD and pulmonary sarcoidosis. Mortality declined in younger males, especially for asthma, whereas older adults experienced a rise in ILD and pulmonary sarcoidosis. Smoking was the primary risk factor for COPD, whereas high body mass index and silica exposure were key risk factors for asthma and pneumoconiosis. During the pandemic, the incidence of chronic respiratory diseases increased modestly, but the decline in mortality rates became more pronounced, highlighting the need for sustained global attention and action to address their long-term burden.

Metrics

1 Record Views
14 citations in Web of Science

Related content

Was corrected by

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#4 Quality Education

Source: SDGs in the Output

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Highly Cited Paper 
Collaboration types
Industry collaboration
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cell Biology
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Logo image