This study aimed to assess the worldwide burden of digestive diseases between 1990 and 2019.
We analyzed data from the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) study, covering 18 digestive diseases across 204 countries and territories. Key disease burden indicators, including incidence, prevalence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), were studied. Linear regression analysis was applied to the natural logarithm of age-standardized outcomes to determine the annual percent change.
In 2019, there were 7.32 billion incidents and 2.86 billion prevalent cases of digestive diseases, resulting in 8 million deaths and 277 million DALYs lost. Little to no decrease in global age-standardized incidence and prevalence of digestive diseases was observed between 1990 and 2019, with 95,582 and 35,106 cases per 100,000 individuals in 2019, respectively. The age-standardized death rate was 102 per 100,000 individuals. Digestive diseases accounted for a significant portion of the overall disease burden, with over one-third of prevalent cases having a digestive etiology. Enteric infections were the primary contributor to incidence, death, and DALYs lost, while cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases had the highest prevalence rate. The burden of digestive diseases was inversely related to the socio-demographic index, with enteric infections being the predominant cause of death in low and low-middle quintiles, and colorectal cancer in the high quintile.
Despite significant reductions in deaths and DALYs due to digestive diseases from 1990 to 2019, they remain prevalent. A significant disparity in the burden of digestive diseases exists among countries with different development levels.

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