Burden of cancers attributable to high fasting plasma glucose and its association with socio-economic status in the Middle East and North Africa region, 1990-2019

Abstract

Cancers are leading causes of mortality and morbidity, with High fasting plasma glucose (HFPG) being recognised as a significant risk factor for many types of cancer. The present study reported the cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) that were attributable to HFPG in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by country, age, sex, cancer type and Socio demographic Index (SDI), from 1990 to 2019. Methods: Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 data were used to report the cancer-related deaths and DALYs that were attributable to HFPG, for all MENA countries over the period 1990–2019. The results were presented as numbers, population attributable fractions (PAFs) and rates (per 100,000) with 95% uncertainty intervals. Results: In 2019, there were an estimated 19.8 thousand (5.5–40.2) cancer deaths attributable to HFPG in MENA, which represents 4.7% (1.3–9.3) of all cancer-related deaths. The number of regional DALYs due to HFPG-related cancers was 462.2 thousand (127.3–959.5), which represents 3.8% (1.1–7.6) of all cancer-related DALYs in 2019. From 1990 to 2019, the age-standardized DALY rate of cancers attributable to HFPG (per 100,000) grew from 56.3 (14.6–121.1) to 107.0 (29.8–220.8), which was a 90.1% (64.4–127.8) increase. In 2019, the highest age-standardized DALY rate of cancers attributable to HFPG was in Qatar (270.4) and the lowest was in Sudan (75.3). The DALY rate of cancers attributable to HFPG increased with age, peaking for males in the 70–74 age group and for females in the 75– 79 age group, and then decreased for both sexes. A broadly positive relationship was found between the national SDI and the national age-standardized DALY rate of all cancers attributable to FPG over the measurement period.