Global burden of six musculoskeletal disorders in women of childbearing age from 1990 to 2021

Women of childbearing age (WCBA) are a high-risk group for musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders and face significant challenges. A comprehensive analysis is needed to understand the impacts and develop suitable strategies. Detailed data on MSK disorders in WCBA over the past 32 years, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA), low back pain (LBP), neck pain (NP), gout, and other musculoskeletal disorders (OMSKDs), were collected from the Global Burden of Disease database (GBD2021). The burden of these diseases and trends were assessed using prevalence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), the Socio-Demographic Index (SDI), and estimated annual percentage changes , with forecasts made up to 2050.From 1990 to 2021, among WCBA, the number of patients with MSK disorders increased from 245,428,271 to 401,422,090. The rate of increase in prevalence was the greatest in middle SDI regions, while high SDI regions bear the highest age-standardized DALYs rate. The conditions with the most significant increase in Age-Standardized Prevalence Rate are ranked as OA, gout, OMSKDs, RA, and NP, while LBP remained relatively unchanged. The ARIMA model forecasts that the number of cases will further rise, and it is estimated that approximately 500 million WCBA will be affected by MSK diseases by 2050. The contributions of obesity and renal dysfunction to the burden of MSK disorders will further increase.WCBA face a significant burden from MSK disorders, and this burden is forecast to increase further. There is an urgent need to invest more in medical resources to manage MSK conditions in WCBA. Focus on the significant increase in specific MSK disorders and controlling modifiable risk factors is crucial.