A socioeconomic perspective on the global burden of gastroesophageal reflux disease (1990–2021): findings from the GBD 2021

From 1990 to 2021, the global number of incident cases increased from 180 million to 324 million, the number of prevalent cases increased from 451 million to 826 million, and the number of disability-adjusted life years increased from 3.47 million to 6.34 million. Compared with men, women presented a greater disease burden. The SDI showed a weak negative correlation with the disease burden, and the burden remained concentrated among low-SDI populations over the 30-year period (CII= -0.04), with no improvement observed. Decomposition analysis revealed that population growth (64.58%‒68.46%) and aging (22.85%‒29.53%) were the primary drivers of the increased burden, whereas epidemiological changes in high-SDI regions had negative effects. Frontier analysis indicated that regions with an SDI > 0.75 had the greatest potential for reduction.​ CONCLUSION: The global disease burden of GERD has continued to increase, with significant disparities across geographical, socioeconomic, and demographic characteristics. This study provides a scientific basis for formulating targeted public health strategies and alleviating health inequalities.