The burden of ischemic heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus attributable to diet high in sugar‐sweetened beverages in China: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

BACKGROUND To estimate the burden of ischemic heart disease (IHD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) attributable to diet high in sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in China from 1990 to 2017. METHODS Data from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2017 were used to assess all-age and age-standardized risk-attributable mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) by age, sex, year, province, and Socio-demographic Index (SDI). RESULTS For total non-communicable diseases (NCDs), 12,523 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 776-27,631) deaths, 305,288 (18,611-661,847) YLLs, 142,051 (64,530-257,468) YLDs, and 447,339 (132,677-858,838) DALYs were attributable to diet high in SSBs in 2017, particularly among males. Age-standardized risk-attributable mortality, YLL, YLD, and DALY rates increased distinctly by 507.3%, 410.3%, 571.0%, and 453.3% from 1990 to 2017 respectively. Age-sex-specific risk-attributable mortality and YLL rates for IHD in older adults (over 65 years) were higher than in young (between 25 and 39 years) and middle-aged adults (between 40 and 64 years) in 2017; however, the YLD and DALY rates for T2DM were higher in young and middle-aged male than in older male. The age-standardized risk-attributable DALY rates for total NCDs increased substantially in high and high-middle SDI provinces during the period. CONCLUSIONS China has a huge and growing burden of IHD and T2DM attributable to diet high in SSBs, particularly among young and middle-aged male adults in wealthier provinces. Evidence-based public health policies at the provincial levels to reduce the consumption of SSBs should be prioritized in China. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.