Burden of gastrointestinal and liver diseases in India, 1990–2016

There is no comprehensive report on the burden of gastrointestinal (GI) and liver diseases in India. In this study, we estimated the age-standardized prevalence, mortality, and disability adjusted life years (DALY) rates of GI and liver diseases in India from 1990 to 2016 using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study, which systematically reviews literature and reports for international disease burden trends. Despite a decrease in the overall burden from GI infectious disorders since 1990, they still accounted for the majority of DALYs in 2016. Among noncommunicable disorders (NCDs), there were increases in the prevalence and mortality rates for pancreatitis, liver cancer, paralytic ileus and intestinal obstruction, gallbladder and biliary tract cancer, vascular intestinal disorders, colorectal cancer, and inflammatory bowel disease. Prevalence and mortality rates decreased for peptic ulcer disease, hernias, appendicitis, and stomach and esophageal cancer. For gastritis and duodenitis, cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases, and gallbladder and biliary tract diseases, there was an increase in prevalence but a decrease in mortality while the opposite was true for pancreatic cancer (decreased prevalence, increased mortality). Indian gastroenterologists and hepatologists must continue to attend to the large majority of patients with infectious diseases while also managing the increasing number of GI and liver diseases, noncommunicable nonmalignant and malignant.