Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study aims to analyze the global impact of population ageing on stroke-related disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from 1990 to 2021. METHODS: Decomposition analysis was conducted using Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data to isolate the contributions of population size, ageing, and age-specific stroke rates to stroke-related DALYs. RESULTS: Population ageing was found to be the dominant driver of stroke-related DALYs globally. From 1990 to 2021, population ageing contributed to an increase of 55.24 million stroke-related DALYs. The greatest impact was observed in Middle-SDI regions, where stroke-related DALYs attributable to population ageing rose significantly. Among the GBD regions, East Asia had the highest contribution to stroke-related DALYs attributed to population ageing for males (100.41%), while High-income Asia Pacific recorded the highest for females (97.49%). In stroke subtypes, ischemic stroke was the most significantly affected by population ageing, while subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) was the least affected. CONCLUSIONS: Population ageing is a dominant driver of the growing global stroke burden, necessitating targeted public health interventions for ageing populations.