Summary Musculoskeletal disorders was responsible for 150 million (95% UI 109–198) DALYs, or 5·9% (4·6–7·3) of total DALYs in 2019, 98·1% (97·3–98·7) of which were YLDs.

Definition This aggregate cause incorporates death and, mostly, disability resulting from rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, low back pain, neck pain, gout, and a large residual category of other musculoskeletal disorders.

Total sources
Incidence 54
Prevalence 749
Remission 4
Causes of death 3758
Other 43
Table 1: Total sources used in GBD 2019 estimation
What is new in GBD 2019?
  • •GBD added two new osteoarthritis categories: hand and other sites (eg, foot, shoulder, wrist).
  • •Both new sites of osteoarthritis are common and resulted in approximately a two-fold increase in YLDs of osteoarthritis.
  • •New bias adjustments for studies on low back pain and neck pain that reported a too-broad anatomical region, chronic pain, varying recall periods, activity-limiting pain only, studies surveying schoolchildren, and USA and Taiwan (province of China) insurance claims data were made. This led to changes in YLDs for low back pain, increasing in some locations and decreasing in others, and near-systematic decreases of YLDs for neck pain.
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
1510
(1430
to 1600)
18 407·5
(17 412·6
to 19 433·6)
323
(293
to 354)
3944·5
(3580·1
to 4325·8)
0·118
(0·0948
to 0·136)
1·5
(1·2
to 1·7)
2·79
(2·29
to 3·31)
34·7
(28·4
to 41·1)
147
(106
to 195)
1790·9
(1288·2
to 2366·6)
150
(109
to 198)
1825·6
(1322·5
to 2402·0)
Females
869
(825
to 914)
20 601·0
(19 534·5
to 21 705·7)
182
(166
to 200)
4368·0
(3972·8
to 4797·6)
0·0813
(0·0583
to 0·0985)
1·9
(1·4
to 2·3)
1·98
(1·49
to 2·43)
47·3
(35·6
to 58·0)
86·7
(62·5
to 115)
2063·7
(1487·2
to 2728·3)
88·7
(64·5
to 117)
2110·9
(1536·3
to 2777·3)
Males
646
(610
to 685)
16 121·2
(15 216·6
to 17 073·7)
141
(128
to 155)
3505·7
(3181·0
to 3848·5)
0·0362
(0·0317
to 0·0408)
1·1
(0·9
to 1·2)
0·815
(0·736
to 0·927)
21·6
(19·4
to 24·4)
60·5
(43·4
to 80·3)
1505·0
(1078·1
to 1994·7)
61·4
(44·2
to 81·1)
1526·6
(1100·0
to 2016·2)
Percentage change 2010-19
Both Sexes
21·0%
(20·3
to 21·7)
0·9%
(0·5
to 1·2)
16·5%
(15·4
to 17·6)
–1·2%
(–1·6
to –0·8)
29·6%
(22·0
to 37·5)
0·8%
(–5·2
to 7·5)
18·8%
(10·9
to 26·6)
–1·6%
(–8·2
to 5·0)
19·8%
(18·7
to 21·0)
0·5%
(0·0
to 1·1)
19·8%
(18·6
to 20·9)
0·5%
(–0·1
to 1·1)
Females
20·6%
(19·9
to 21·3)
0·5%
(0·1
to 0·8)
17·2%
(16·0
to 18·5)
–0·8%
(–1·2
to –0·5)
30·2%
(20·7
to 40·4)
2·1%
(–5·6
to 10·6)
19·5%
(9·9
to 29·4)
–0·3%
(–8·5
to 8·0)
20·0%
(18·9
to 21·1)
0·5%
(–0·1
to 1·1)
20·0%
(18·9
to 21·1)
0·4%
(–0·2
to 1·1)
Males
21·5%
(20·6
to 22·3)
1·4%
(1·0
to 1·9)
15·6%
(14·6
to 16·7)
–1·8%
(–2·2
to –1·3)
28·3%
(20·0
to 36·8)
–1·0%
(–7·1
to 5·4)
17·2%
(9·0
to 25·3)
–4·5%
(–11·1
to 2·0)
19·5%
(18·1
to 20·9)
0·7%
(0·0
to 1·4)
19·4%
(18·1
to 20·9)
0·6%
(–0·1
to 1·3)
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 19th 20th 1st 12th
2010 19th 19th 1st 7th
2019 19th 19th 1st 6th
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