Dataset Information

Global disability-adjusted life-year estimates of long-term health burden and undernutrition attributable to diarrhoeal diseases in children younger than 5 years.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Diarrhoea is a leading cause of death and illness globally among children younger than 5 years. Mortality and short-term morbidity cause substantial burden of disease but probably underestimate the true effect of diarrhoea on population health. This underestimation is because diarrhoeal diseases can negatively affect early childhood growth, probably through enteric dysfunction and impaired uptake of macronutrients and micronutrients. We attempt to quantify the long-term sequelae associated with childhood growth impairment due to diarrhoea.

Methods

We used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study framework and leveraged existing estimates of diarrhoea incidence, childhood undernutrition, and infectious disease burden to estimate the effect of diarrhoeal diseases on physical growth, including weight and height, and subsequent disease among children younger than 5 years. The burden of diarrhoea was measured in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), a composite metric of mortality and morbidity. We hypothesised that diarrhoea is negatively associated with three common markers of growth: weight-for-age, weight-for-height, and height-for-age Z-scores. On the basis of these undernutrition exposures, we applied a counterfactual approach to quantify the relative risk of infectious disease (subsequent diarrhoea, lower respiratory infection, and measles) and protein energy malnutrition morbidity and mortality per day of diarrhoea and quantified the burden of diarrhoeal disease due to these outcomes caused by undernutrition.

Findings

Diarrhoea episodes are significantly associated with childhood growth faltering. We found that each day of diarrhoea was associated with height-for-age Z-score (-0·0033 [95% CI -0·0024 to -0·0041]; p=4·43 × 10^-14), weight-for-age Z-score (-0·0077 [-0·0058 to -0·0097]; p=3·19 × 10^-15), and weight-for-height Z-score (-0·0096 [-0·0067 to -0·0125]; p=7·78 × 10^-11). After addition of the DALYs due to the long-term sequelae as a consequence of undernutrition, the burden of diarrhoeal diseases increased by 39·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 33·0-46·6) and was responsible for 55 778 000 DALYs (95% UI 49 125 400-62 396 200) among children younger than 5 years in 2016. Among the 15 652 300 DALYs (95% UI 12 951 300-18 806 100) associated with undernutrition due to diarrhoeal episodes, more than 84·7% are due to increased risk of infectious disease, whereas the remaining 15·3% of long-term DALYs are due to increased prevalence of protein energy malnutrition. The burden of diarrhoea has decreased substantially since 1990, but progress has been greater in long-term (78·7% reduction [95% UI 69·3-85·5]) than in acute (70·4% reduction [95% UI 61·7-76·5]) DALYs.

Interpretation

Diarrhoea represents an even larger burden of disease than was estimated in the Global Burden of Disease Study. In order to adequately address the burden of its long-term sequelae, a renewed emphasis on controlling the risk of diarrhoea incidence may be required. This renewed effort can help further prevent the potential lifelong cost on child health, growth, and overall potential.

Funding

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

SUBMITTER: Troeger C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5861379 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundIn Nigeria, diarrhoea contributes significantly to childhood morbidity and mortality, with suboptimal breastfeeding practices playing a key role. The present study aimed to report on diarrhoea deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) among children aged under five years attributable to suboptimal breastfeeding practices in Nigeria.MethodsThis study used data from the Global Burden of Disease study 2016, which estimated mortality from diarrhoea in the Cause of Death Ensemble model. Suboptimal breastfeeding was assessed as a combination of non-exclusive breastfeeding and discontinued breastfeeding. The comparative risk assessment approach was used to estimate the attributable burden of diarrhoea deaths and DALYs due to suboptimal breastfeeding practices in the spatial-temporal Gaussian Process Regression tool.ResultsIn 2016, suboptimal breastfeeding practices accounted for an estimated 56.5% (95% uncertainty intervals [UI]: 47.5, 68.3) of diarrhoea deaths in the late neonatal period, 39.0% (31.0, 46.3) in post-neonatal period, 39.0% (31.3, 46.20) in infancy period and 22.8% (16.9, 29.9) in children aged under five years in Nigeria. In the same year, 22,371 (14,259, 32,746) total diarrhoea deaths in children under five years could be attributed to suboptimal breastfeeding practices. DALYs from diarrhoea attributable to suboptimal breastfeeding practices was 1.9 million (1.2, 2.8 million) among children under five years in 2016. Between 1990 and 2016, the proportion of children who died from diarrhoea due to suboptimal breastfeeding did not change substantially across all age groups in Nigeria.ConclusionsSuboptimal breastfeeding practices remain a significant contributor to diarrhoea mortality and disability among children under five years in Nigeria. The study builds on previously published works on breastfeeding practices in Nigeria and provides evidence to support calls for the scale-up of efforts to improve infant feeding outcomes and reduce diarrhoea burden in Nigeria.