Summary Congenital musculoskeletal defects caused 11 200 deaths (95% UI 8020–15 900) in 2019 among all ages. 17·7 million (13·6–22·2) people were living with congenital musculoskeletal and limb anomalies in 2019, a 24·8% (21·2–29·3) increase since 1990.

Definition Congenital musculoskeletal defects is an anomaly of the muscles or skeletal system present at birth that is not caused by a defined chromosomal syndrome. We explicitly model three sub-categories: polydactyly and syndactyly, limb reduction defects, and all other congenital musculoskeletal anomalies.

Total sources
Incidence 0
Prevalence 1635
Remission 0
Causes of death 2584
Other 4
Table 1: Total sources used in GBD 2019 estimation
What is new in GBD 2019?
  • •We revised data processing to include age-sex splitting using location-year-specific empirical age-sex patterns which improved how COD results informed prevalence and incidence models.
  • •We performed data adjustments for alternate definitions (alternates included when stillbirths or terminations included, chromosomal anomalies excluded, or datum included only a subset of defects) using MR-BRT prior to modelling.
  • •We revised clinical administrative data processing to better account for inpatient:outpatient visits.
  • •We revised DisMod-MR 2.1 covariates to match those that were most predictive in CODEm.
  • •We revised model settings to better account for possibility of remission in all of our congenital musculoskeletal models.
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
17·7
(13·6
to 22·2)
238·9
(182·5
to 299·6)
2·30
(1·46
to 3·20)
35·5
(22·5
to 49·4)
0·0112
(0·00802
to 0·0159)
0·2
(0·1
to 0·2)
0·941
(0·666
to 1·36)
14·2
(10·0
to 20·7)
2·58
(1·63
to 3·79)
34·8
(22·0
to 51·3)
3·52
(2·51
to 4·75)
49·1
(34·8
to 66·0)
Females
9·06
(7·05
to 11·3)
247·8
(191·1
to 309·6)
1·12
(0·712
to 1·56)
35·9
(22·8
to 50·0)
0·00488
(0·00306
to 0·00762)
0·2
(0·1
to 0·2)
0·409
(0·253
to 0·646)
12·8
(7·9
to 20·3)
1·32
(0·834
to 1·94)
36·2
(23·0
to 52·8)
1·73
(1·19
to 2·34)
48·9
(33·6
to 66·4)
Males
8·63
(6·58
to 10·8)
230·1
(174·8
to 289·3)
1·18
(0·741
to 1·64)
35·1
(22·1
to 48·9)
0·00629
(0·00440
to 0·00930)
0·2
(0·1
to 0·3)
0·532
(0·368
to 0·798)
15·6
(10·8
to 23·5)
1·26
(0·794
to 1·87)
33·5
(21·1
to 49·5)
1·79
(1·26
to 2·42)
49·2
(34·5
to 66·5)
Percentage change 2010-19
Both Sexes
7·7%
(6·4
to 8·9)
0·2%
(–0·9
to 1·3)
–1·1%
(–3·4
to 0·9)
0·2%
(–2·2
to 2·2)
–12·1%
(–26·7
to 5·6)
–12·6%
(–27·1
to 5·1)
–12·7%
(–27·4
to 5·6)
–12·7%
(–27·4
to 5·8)
7·6%
(6·1
to 9·0)
0·2%
(–1·2
to 1·5)
1·3%
(–6·8
to 7·0)
–3·9%
(–11·3
to 1·7)
Females
7·8%
(6·3
to 9·1)
0·0%
(–1·5
to 1·2)
–0·7%
(–3·3
to 1·7)
0·5%
(–2·1
to 3·0)
–11·9%
(–28·4
to 8·7)
–12·7%
(–29·1
to 7·8)
–12·7%
(–29·2
to 8·6)
–12·9%
(–29·4
to 8·5)
7·6%
(5·9
to 9·2)
0·0%
(–1·9
to 1·5)
2·0%
(–6·9
to 7·8)
–3·7%
(–12·0
to 2·0)
Males
7·5%
(6·0
to 9·2)
0·5%
(–0·8
to 1·8)
–1·5%
(–4·0
to 0·9)
–0·1%
(–2·7
to 2·3)
–12·2%
(–27·5
to 5·8)
–12·6%
(–27·6
to 5·6)
–12·7%
(–27·9
to 5·7)
–12·6%
(–27·8
to 6·0)
7·5%
(5·6
to 9·3)
0·5%
(–1·2
to 2·1)
0·6%
(–8·7
to 7·1)
–4·1%
(–13·0
to 2·3)
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 171st 139th 65th 120th
2010 173rd 143rd 69th 130th
2019 174th 149th 70th 131st
Table 3: Rank among most detailed causes for global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in 1990, 2010, and 2019, for both sexes combined
Figure 1: Composition of DALYs by YLLs and constituent sequelae YLDs for both sexes combined, 2019
No Legend
Figure 2: Age-standardised DALY rates for each location by SDI, both sexes combined, 2019
Figure 3: Composition of DALYs by YLLs and YLDs, age group, and sex, 2019
No Legend
Figure 4: Age-standardised DALY rates (per 100 000) by location, both sexes combined, 2019