Summary Chronic respiratory diseases was responsible for 71·1 million (95% UI 64·7–77·0) YLLs and 32·4 million (26·1–38·5) YLDs in 2019. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma were the two largest contributors to global respiratory disease burden.

Definition Chronic respiratory diseases is an aggregate category that includes COPD, asthma, pneumoconioses, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis, and other chronic respiratory diseases.

Total sources
Incidence 44
Prevalence 779
Remission 28
Causes of death 3875
Other 46
Table 1: Total sources used in GBD 2019 estimation
What is new in GBD 2019?
  • •For all chronic respiratory disorders, we made data adjustments for alternative case definitions using MR-BRT leading to various degrees of change in prevalence estimates depending on the cause and the volume of data that needed adjustments.
  • •We estimated excess mortality rates as a function of HAQ Index to enforce a more plausible pattern of decreasing case fatality with higher HAQ Index. For COPD and silicosis in particular, this revealed rather large inconsistencies between cause-specific mortality rates and data on prevalence, and as a consequence, prevalence of these disorders increased quite a lot in east Asia.
Prevalence
Incidence
Deaths
YLLs
YLDs
DALYs
Cases
(millions)
Rate (per 100 000)
Cases
(millions)
Rate (per 100 000)
Deaths
(millions)
Rate (per 100 000)
YLLs
(millions)
Rate (per 100 000)
YLDs
(millions)
Rate (per 100 000)
DALYs
(millions)
Rate (per 100 000)
2019
Both Sexes
455
(417
to 499)
5789·2
(5290·7
to 6418·1)
77·6
(68·9
to 87·9)
1001·6
(883·0
to 1144·4)
3·97
(3·58
to 4·30)
51·3
(45·9
to 55·5)
71·1
(64·7
to 77·0)
885·9
(805·6
to 959·4)
32·4
(26·1
to 38·5)
407·9
(327·4
to 486·9)
104
(94·8
to 112)
1293·7
(1183·0
to 1403·6)
Females
231
(213
to 253)
5695·9
(5209·3
to 6282·1)
38·6
(34·4
to 43·4)
973·4
(860·6
to 1108·6)
1·74
(1·46
to 1·96)
39·7
(33·2
to 44·7)
29·7
(25·2
to 33·4)
686·7
(582·2
to 772·6)
16·8
(13·6
to 19·8)
406·3
(326·2
to 484·4)
46·5
(41·1
to 51·4)
1093·0
(965·7
to 1209·0)
Males
223
(204
to 248)
5907·7
(5382·0
to 6581·2)
39·0
(34·4
to 44·6)
1034·1
(910·0
to 1187·4)
2·23
(2·03
to 2·45)
66·7
(60·5
to 73·1)
41·4
(37·7
to 45·7)
1127·5
(1027·5
to 1242·9)
15·6
(12·4
to 18·9)
411·2
(328·6
to 499·3)
57·0
(51·9
to 62·6)
1538·7
(1399·5
to 1690·3)
Percentage change 2010-19
Both Sexes
17·7%
(15·5
to 19·9)
–0·5%
(–2·7
to 2·0)
20·2%
(18·0
to 22·6)
2·9%
(0·9
to 5·2)
13·2%
(4·9
to 21·3)
–14·1%
(–20·2
to –8·0)
7·6%
(–0·4
to 15·7)
–16·0%
(–22·1
to –9·7)
18·0%
(15·5
to 20·8)
–2·1%
(–4·4
to 0·3)
10·6%
(4·9
to 16·3)
–12·0%
(–16·6
to –7·5)
Females
19·1%
(16·8
to 21·4)
0·6%
(–1·7
to 3·0)
21·9%
(19·8
to 24·2)
4·2%
(2·2
to 6·5)
15·7%
(1·7
to 28·3)
–12·0%
(–22·5
to –2·7)
9·9%
(–3·6
to 22·0)
–13·9%
(–24·2
to –4·4)
20·1%
(16·8
to 24·0)
–0·4%
(–3·3
to 2·9)
13·4%
(4·2
to 21·3)
–9·3%
(–16·6
to –3·1)
Males
16·2%
(13·9
to 18·5)
–1·7%
(–4·0
to 0·9)
18·5%
(16·0
to 21·2)
1·6%
(–0·4
to 3·9)
11·3%
(2·2
to 22·1)
–16·2%
(–22·6
to –8·4)
5·9%
(–3·0
to 16·9)
–17·7%
(–24·4
to –9·6)
15·8%
(13·1
to 18·9)
–4·1%
(–6·6
to –1·2)
8·5%
(1·7
to 16·7)
–14·5%
(–19·9
to –8·1)
Numbers in parentheses are 95% uncertainty intervals.
Table 2: Global prevalence, incidence, deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in counts and age-standardised rates for both sexes combined, females, and males, 2019, with percentage change between 2010 and 2019
Deaths YLLs YLDs DALYs
1990 6th 11th 9th 11th
2010 4th 13th 10th 10th
2019 3rd 7th 11th 10th
Table 3: Rank among Level 2 causes for global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in 1990, 2010, and 2019, for both sexes combined
Figure 1: Composition of DALYs by constituent Level 3 causes for both sexes combined, 2019
Figure 2: Percentage of DALYs attributable to top risk factors for both sexes combined, 2019
No Legend
Figure 3: Age-standardised DALY rates for each location by SDI, both sexes combined, 2019
Figure 4: Composition of DALYs by YLLs and YLDs, age group, and sex, 2019
No Legend
Figure 5: Age-standardised DALY rates (per 100 000) by location, both sexes combined, 2019