- Design
- Systematic analysis of Global Burden of Disease 2023 estimates
- Population
- Adolescents aged 10–24 in 44 Asia-Pacific countries and territories, 2000–2023
- Primary outcome
- Mortality, DALYs and risk-factor prevalence
- Effect
- 40.6% of global adolescent DALYs; NCDs 64.8% of regional DALYs
A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023, in Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, examined health among adolescents aged 10–24 in 44 countries and territories across Asia-Pacific from 2000 to 2023.
The region accounted for 34.1% of the world's adolescent deaths and 40.6% of its adolescent disease burden. Non-communicable diseases, especially mental disorders, caused 64.8% of the burden and 43.9% of deaths. Transport and other unintentional injuries were leading causes of death, particularly in young men. Southern Asia had the largest fall in overall burden, at 1.5% a year. Overweight and obesity rose in every country, rising rapidly in south and south-east Asia. Anaemia fell everywhere but remained higher, and fell more slowly, in girls.
For paediatricians and GPs in India, this frames the adolescent consultation: mood, weight, road safety, tobacco and, in girls, iron status are the recurring threats.
- Ask adolescents about mood and stress at routine visits; mental disorders are the leading cause of burden.
- Plot BMI at every growth review; overweight is rising across the region.
- Check haemoglobin in adolescent girls with fatigue, heavy periods or poor diet.
- Discuss helmet and seatbelt use with adolescent boys, who carry most transport-injury deaths.
Why it matters
The adolescent burden in Asia-Pacific has shifted from infection to mental health, weight and injury.
Don't overread it
GBD figures are modelled estimates with uncertainty; they describe populations, not individual risk.
The statistics, in plain English
Disability-adjusted life-years combine years lost to early death and years lived with illness, so they capture conditions such as depression that rarely kill but cause long-lasting harm.
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