Age-sex differences in Alzheimer’s and related dementias burden and risk factors in east and Southeast Asia: results from the 2021 GBD study

BackgroundAlzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) significant global public health challenges, leading to severe disability in patients and placing a heavy burden on caregivers. However, epidemiological studies focusing on ADRD in specific regions remain limited. This study aims to comprehe...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tengyu Zhao, Pengyu Pan, Yuhan Zhou, Xinyue Zhang, Quan Li, Yanyan Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2025.1562148/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849682805644066816
author Tengyu Zhao
Pengyu Pan
Yuhan Zhou
Xinyue Zhang
Quan Li
Yanyan Zhou
Yanyan Zhou
author_facet Tengyu Zhao
Pengyu Pan
Yuhan Zhou
Xinyue Zhang
Quan Li
Yanyan Zhou
Yanyan Zhou
author_sort Tengyu Zhao
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundAlzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) significant global public health challenges, leading to severe disability in patients and placing a heavy burden on caregivers. However, epidemiological studies focusing on ADRD in specific regions remain limited. This study aims to comprehensively analyze and describe the current status and changing trends of ADRD in Non-High-income East Asia (NHIEA), Non-High-income Southeast Asia (NHISEA), and High-income Asia Pacific (HIAP), providing more detailed real-world data to inform policymaking.MethodsThe data for ADRD used in this study were extracted from the 2021 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) database. We employed three major indicators of disease burden—prevalence, incidence, and years lived with disability (YLD)—and explored associated risk factors, further analyzing trends by age and sex. The results are presented as mean values with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). Additionally, we explored the differences between NHIEA, NHISEA, HIAP and other regions, as well as the potential associations between the disease burden of Alzheimer’s and other dementias and socioeconomic factors.ResultsThe findings indicate that the burden of dementia is rising in East and Southeast Asia, with women showing a higher burden across all indicators. Notably, in NHIEA, particularly in China, the burden of dementia has increased with the rising Social Demographic Index (SDI). China experienced a 27.3% increase in Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia ASYRs from 1990 to 2021, with a sharp 7.6% annual surge in 2021 alone, outpacing regional averages. Gender analysis revealed that women bear a disproportionate burden of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, especially after menopause, when the risk increases significantly. The study also identified smoking, high blood sugar, and high body mass index as important risk factors affecting the disease burden. The contribution of these risk factors varies across regions, genders, and age groups.ConclusionThe health burden of ADRD remains substantial, with distinct patterns observed across NHIEA, NHISEA, and HIAP, including regional variations in gender, age, and risk factors. These findings highlight the need for tailored approaches to allocate healthcare resources and implement appropriate control measures based on the specific conditions of each region to address this growing public health challenge. Future research should prioritize comparative analyses across continents and within regions to inform the development of more region-specific prevention strategies for ADRD.
format Article
id doaj-art-a1380b1f69464b4e92f46da0e5b2f7ac
institution DOAJ
issn 1663-4365
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
spelling doaj-art-a1380b1f69464b4e92f46da0e5b2f7ac2025-08-20T03:24:06ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience1663-43652025-06-011710.3389/fnagi.2025.15621481562148Age-sex differences in Alzheimer’s and related dementias burden and risk factors in east and Southeast Asia: results from the 2021 GBD studyTengyu Zhao0Pengyu Pan1Yuhan Zhou2Xinyue Zhang3Quan Li4Yanyan Zhou5Yanyan Zhou6School of Basic Medicine, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, ChinaSchool of Basic Medicine, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, ChinaSchool of Basic Medicine, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, ChinaSchool of Basic Medicine, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, ChinaSchool of Basic Medicine, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, ChinaSchool of Basic Medicine, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, ChinaKey Laboratory of Basic Theory Research on Traditional Chinese Medicine, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, ChinaBackgroundAlzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) significant global public health challenges, leading to severe disability in patients and placing a heavy burden on caregivers. However, epidemiological studies focusing on ADRD in specific regions remain limited. This study aims to comprehensively analyze and describe the current status and changing trends of ADRD in Non-High-income East Asia (NHIEA), Non-High-income Southeast Asia (NHISEA), and High-income Asia Pacific (HIAP), providing more detailed real-world data to inform policymaking.MethodsThe data for ADRD used in this study were extracted from the 2021 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) database. We employed three major indicators of disease burden—prevalence, incidence, and years lived with disability (YLD)—and explored associated risk factors, further analyzing trends by age and sex. The results are presented as mean values with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). Additionally, we explored the differences between NHIEA, NHISEA, HIAP and other regions, as well as the potential associations between the disease burden of Alzheimer’s and other dementias and socioeconomic factors.ResultsThe findings indicate that the burden of dementia is rising in East and Southeast Asia, with women showing a higher burden across all indicators. Notably, in NHIEA, particularly in China, the burden of dementia has increased with the rising Social Demographic Index (SDI). China experienced a 27.3% increase in Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia ASYRs from 1990 to 2021, with a sharp 7.6% annual surge in 2021 alone, outpacing regional averages. Gender analysis revealed that women bear a disproportionate burden of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, especially after menopause, when the risk increases significantly. The study also identified smoking, high blood sugar, and high body mass index as important risk factors affecting the disease burden. The contribution of these risk factors varies across regions, genders, and age groups.ConclusionThe health burden of ADRD remains substantial, with distinct patterns observed across NHIEA, NHISEA, and HIAP, including regional variations in gender, age, and risk factors. These findings highlight the need for tailored approaches to allocate healthcare resources and implement appropriate control measures based on the specific conditions of each region to address this growing public health challenge. Future research should prioritize comparative analyses across continents and within regions to inform the development of more region-specific prevention strategies for ADRD.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2025.1562148/fullGBD (2021) databaseAlzheimer’s disease and related dementiasburden of diseaserisk factorage-sex differencesEast and Southeast Asia
spellingShingle Tengyu Zhao
Pengyu Pan
Yuhan Zhou
Xinyue Zhang
Quan Li
Yanyan Zhou
Yanyan Zhou
Age-sex differences in Alzheimer’s and related dementias burden and risk factors in east and Southeast Asia: results from the 2021 GBD study
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
GBD (2021) database
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias
burden of disease
risk factor
age-sex differences
East and Southeast Asia
title Age-sex differences in Alzheimer’s and related dementias burden and risk factors in east and Southeast Asia: results from the 2021 GBD study
title_full Age-sex differences in Alzheimer’s and related dementias burden and risk factors in east and Southeast Asia: results from the 2021 GBD study
title_fullStr Age-sex differences in Alzheimer’s and related dementias burden and risk factors in east and Southeast Asia: results from the 2021 GBD study
title_full_unstemmed Age-sex differences in Alzheimer’s and related dementias burden and risk factors in east and Southeast Asia: results from the 2021 GBD study
title_short Age-sex differences in Alzheimer’s and related dementias burden and risk factors in east and Southeast Asia: results from the 2021 GBD study
title_sort age sex differences in alzheimer s and related dementias burden and risk factors in east and southeast asia results from the 2021 gbd study
topic GBD (2021) database
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias
burden of disease
risk factor
age-sex differences
East and Southeast Asia
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2025.1562148/full
work_keys_str_mv AT tengyuzhao agesexdifferencesinalzheimersandrelateddementiasburdenandriskfactorsineastandsoutheastasiaresultsfromthe2021gbdstudy
AT pengyupan agesexdifferencesinalzheimersandrelateddementiasburdenandriskfactorsineastandsoutheastasiaresultsfromthe2021gbdstudy
AT yuhanzhou agesexdifferencesinalzheimersandrelateddementiasburdenandriskfactorsineastandsoutheastasiaresultsfromthe2021gbdstudy
AT xinyuezhang agesexdifferencesinalzheimersandrelateddementiasburdenandriskfactorsineastandsoutheastasiaresultsfromthe2021gbdstudy
AT quanli agesexdifferencesinalzheimersandrelateddementiasburdenandriskfactorsineastandsoutheastasiaresultsfromthe2021gbdstudy
AT yanyanzhou agesexdifferencesinalzheimersandrelateddementiasburdenandriskfactorsineastandsoutheastasiaresultsfromthe2021gbdstudy
AT yanyanzhou agesexdifferencesinalzheimersandrelateddementiasburdenandriskfactorsineastandsoutheastasiaresultsfromthe2021gbdstudy