Summary Globally in 2019, there were 17·2 billion (95% UI 15·4–19·3) incident cases and 237 million (212–265) prevalent cases of upper respiratory infections, contributing to 9460 deaths (5540–14 900) and 6·39 million (3·96–9·72) DALYs.

Definition Upper respiratory infections include cough, acute nasopharyngitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, laryngitis, tracheitis, epiglottitis, rhinitis, rhinosinusitis, rhinopharyngitis, and supraglottitis.

Total sources
Incidence 3
Prevalence 223
Remission 0
Causes of death 2627
Other 15
Table 1: Total sources used in GBD 2019 estimation
What is new in GBD 2019?
  • •New data were added from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS).
  • •DHS data were re-extracted at the subnational level for 17 countries.
  • •The systematic review was updated for non-fatal upper respiratory infections.
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
237
(212
to 265)
3102·1
(2771·3
to 3473·4)
17 200
(15 400
to 19 300)
225 505·7
(201 156·4
to 253 739·5)
0·00946
(0·00554
to 0·0149)
0·1
(0·1
to 0·2)
0·499
(0·195
to 1·01)
7·2
(2·7
to 14·8)
5·89
(3·54
to 9·23)
77·2
(46·3
to 120·9)
6·39
(3·96
to 9·72)
84·4
(52·0
to 128·2)
Females
116
(104
to 129)
3056·2
(2728·7
to 3426·1)
8410
(7540
to 9430)
222 175·9
(197 990·8
to 249 635·5)
0·00415
(0·00235
to 0·00678)
0·1
(0·1
to 0·2)
0·204
(0·0773
to 0·436)
6·0
(2·1
to 13·3)
2·86
(1·73
to 4·49)
75·7
(45·5
to 118·6)
3·07
(1·90
to 4·68)
81·8
(50·2
to 124·9)
Males
121
(108
to 136)
3148·1
(2804·1
to 3531·7)
8810
(7880
to 9910)
228 851·2
(203 975·5
to 257 954·1)
0·00531
(0·00307
to 0·00847)
0·2
(0·1
to 0·2)
0·294
(0·117
to 0·585)
8·3
(3·3
to 16·8)
3·02
(1·81
to 4·75)
78·6
(47·1
to 123·1)
3·32
(2·06
to 5·03)
86·9
(53·7
to 131·4)
Percentage change 2010-19
Both Sexes
10·2%
(9·0
to 11·5)
0·9%
(–0·2
to 2·1)
10·1%
(9·0
to 11·5)
0·9%
(–0·2
to 2·1)
–26·4%
(–46·7
to 30·4)
–35·5%
(–51·0
to 3·9)
–36·2%
(–51·7
to 7·6)
–39·4%
(–53·4
to –2·7)
10·0%
(8·8
to 11·3)
0·9%
(–0·3
to 2·1)
4·1%
(–7·2
to 10·4)
–4·5%
(–14·8
to 1·3)
Females
10·2%
(8·9
to 11·5)
0·8%
(–0·3
to 2·0)
10·2%
(8·9
to 11·5)
0·7%
(–0·3
to 2·0)
–28·2%
(–49·8
to 36·4)
–38·3%
(–54·5
to 5·7)
–39·8%
(–55·1
to 7·7)
–43·0%
(–56·8
to –4·5)
10·0%
(8·6
to 11·3)
0·8%
(–0·4
to 2·1)
4·2%
(–7·2
to 10·4)
–4·6%
(–15·2
to 1·2)
Males
10·2%
(9·0
to 11·5)
1·0%
(–0·2
to 2·3)
10·1%
(9·0
to 11·4)
0·9%
(–0·2
to 2·2)
–25·0%
(–44·9
to 28·6)
–33·4%
(–49·3
to 4·3)
–33·4%
(–50·0
to 9·4)
–36·6%
(–51·9
to –0·5)
10·0%
(8·8
to 11·3)
1·0%
(–0·2
to 2·3)
4·0%
(–7·2
to 10·5)
–4·5%
(–14·7
to 1·4)
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 94th 78th 35th 70th
2010 116th 109th 33rd 76th
2019 117th 112th 34th 74th
Table 3: Rank among Level 3 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
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