[Abstract] Objective To describe and estimate the 20-year trends in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) caused by gastric cancer (GC) in China, and compare it with global and some other selected populations. Methods Using data from Global Burden of Disease 2021, we analyzed DALYs and world-standardized DALY rates from 2000 to 2021 in the Chinese population. An age-period-cohort model was used to evaluate and compare the average annual percentage change (AAPC) in DALY rates from 2000 to 2021 in China, the world, Japan, South Korea, and the United States of America. We analyzed the changes in GC DALYs associated with population aging, population growth, and age-specific DALY rates from 2001-2021 using a decomposition method, by taking data in 2000 as a reference. Results In 2021, GC DALYs in the Chinese population were 10.64 million person-years, accounting for 46.70% of the global GC DALYs and 14.94% of all cancers DALYs in China. The DALYs in men accounted for 72.73%, and those aged ≥65 years old accounted for 44.97%. From 2000 to 2021, the total GC DALYs in the Chinese population decreased by 4.59%, and the standardized rate decreased from 959.29/100,000 to 501.26/100,000. From 2000 to 2021, similar decreased trends were observed in China and Japan, with AAPC being -3.58% and -3.72%, respectively. A higher decreased trend was observed in Korea, whereas relatively modest decreased trends were observed in the Global levels and in the United States of America, with AAPC being -5.04%, -2.79%, and -1.48%, respectively. Between 2000 and 2021, age-specific DALY rates and population aging accounted for the largest decrease and increase in GC DALYs. The changes in GC DALYs attributed to these two factors were -14.84% (-7.60 million person-years) and 9.65% (4.95 million person-years), respectively. Conclusions The DALY burden of GC in China decreased in the past 20 years; however, the decrease trend was still slower than in Korea. GC DALYs attributed to population aging increased rapidly, and population aging has become the first driving factor for the DALY increase in China. Substantially expanding the population coverage of GC screening and strengthening the intervention measures of population aging will have a positive impact on the prevention and control of GC in China. |