Abstract
Background: With the increasing severity of the aging population and the rise in the number of female smokers, the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among women continues to rise. Relevant research on what impact this situation exerts on the disease burden of COPD and its changing trends among women is currently lacking. Methods: Data on female COPD burden were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease database for the years between 1990 and 2021. The trend of burden was evaluated by using percentage changes. Predicted trends for the years after 2021 were assessed by utilizing the Bayesian age-period-cohort (BAPC) model. Results: In 2021, the global numbers of women with COPD were 112.7 million, with 1.6 million deaths and 34.7 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The corresponding Age-standardized rate (ASRs) (per 100,000 population) were 2468.2, 34.1, and 750.6, respectively. Over the past 32 years, the age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) and age-standardized DALY rate (ASDR) dropped by 36.9% and 35.0%, respectively. Among the five socio-demographic index (SDI) regions, in 2021, the low-middle SDI region had the highest age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR), ASMR, and ASDR, at 2817.0 per 100,000 population, 70.7 per 100,000 population, and 1424.1 per 100,000 population, respectively. The BAPC analysis indicated that the number of women with COPD is expected to rise over the next 30 years, while ASPR, ASMR, and ASDR are projected to decline. Conclusions: Although the ASPR, ASMR, and ASDR of female COPD patients have decreased from 1990 to 2021, the corresponding number of cases has been increasing, which reminds us that female COPD is indeed a public health issue that cannot be ignored. In the future, when formulating COPD prevention and control strategies, the special characteristics of female patients must be fully considered to reduce the disease burden of female COPD.