Worldwide Burden of Urogenital Congenital Anomalies Across Childhood and Adolescence, 1990–2021: Results From the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

The Burden of urogenital congenital anomalies (UCAs) among children and adolescence aged under 24 years in the world has not been comprehensively studied regarding the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) database 2021. This study aims to characterize the burden of UCAs in this population from 1990 through 2021. We extracted data from GBD 2021 to collect information on the prevalence, deaths, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) linked to UCAs from 1990 to 2021. Furthermore, we calculated the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) for each metric to assess temporal trends. In 2021, there were 6343.41 thousand prevalent cases of UCAs worldwide, with UCAs accounting for 7.50 thousand deaths and 882.19 thousand DALYs. UCAs prevalence increased by 3.97% between 1990 and 2021, with the global age-standardized rate (ASR) of prevalence increasing to 89.76 per 100 000. Global deaths decreased by 23.48% over the same interval, with an ASR of 0.12 cases per 100 000. The worldwide DALYs burden decreased by 1.40%, corresponding to an ASR of 13.56 DALYs per 100 000 population. The prevalence of UCAs in the 0-9 age group has been increasing annually, reaching a peak in the 5-9 years age range. Over the past 32 years, mortality and DALYs attributable to UCAs have steadily declined, despite persistent regional disparities. These findings offer vital guidance for developing targeted prevention and management strategies for UCAs.