Sex-stratified mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to gastric cancer among older adults (70+) from 1990 to 2021: A global burden of disease study.

e16134 Background: Gastric cancer is a malignant disease characterized by the uncontrolled growth of cells in the stomach lining and is a global health concern. It is a significant health burden in older adults, with long-term complications affecting quality of life and survival. We aim to explore sex-stratified trends in mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to Gastric Cancer from 1990 to 2021. Methods: We obtained sex-stratified data for older adults aged 70 years and above with Gastric Cancer from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) from 1990 to 2021. The mortality rates were age-standardized and expressed per 100,000 deaths. Trends were analyzed as annual percentage change (APC) and average APC (AAPC) using Joinpoint Regression. Results: From 1990 to 2021, deaths due to Gastric Cancer in older adult males increased globally from 187,690 to 305,807 per annum, with age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) decreasing from 227 to 140 and standardized DALYs decreasing from 3734 to 2189. In females, deaths rose from 147,867 to 188,861, with ASMRs declining from 124 to 68 and DALYs declining from 1908 to 979. Despite the apparent rise in deaths, ASMRs exhibited a significant decline in both sexes, with an AAPC of -1.53% (95% CI: -1.56 to -1.49) in males and -1.91% (-1.94 to -1.88) in females. The DALYs showed a significant decline in females with an AAPC of -2.13% (-2.16 to -2.1) but a significant increase in males with an AAPC of -1.72% (-1.75 to -1.69). Males experienced the greatest APC decline in deaths of -3.33% from 2004 to 2007, while females showed their steepest decline of -3.50% during the same period. Prior to this, males exhibited a decline of -1.59% from 1990 to 1998, followed by a non-significant increase of 0.06% from 1998 to 2004. For females, the decline was more pronounced from 1990 to 1998 at -2.13%. After 2007, males experienced declines of -1.24% from 2007 to 2010 and -1.24% from 2018 to 2021. In contrast, females saw declines of -2.29% from 2007 to 2014, followed by a smaller decline of -1.36% till 2021. DALYs in females showed the greatest decline of -4.01% from 2004 to 2007, after decreases of -2.19% (1990–1998) and -1.21% (1998–2004). This was followed by declines of -2.73% till 2015 and -1.22% till 2021. Males saw the steepest decline of -3.74% from 2004 to 2007, with earlier reductions of -1.56% (1990–1998) and -0.07% (1998–2004), followed by -2.85% till 2015 and -1.68% till 2021. Conclusions: Although ASMRs declined, the recent decline in ASMRs in females is becoming less pronounced highlighting the importance of ongoing monitoring and improvement strategies. The disparity in DALYs between males and females also demands the need for targeted interventions addressing male-specific challenges to reduce the burden of Gastric Cancer.