Burden of pancreatic cancer in older adults globally, regionally, and in 204 countries: 1990-2019 and projections to 2030.

Background: Global aging is increasing; however, the epidemiologic characteristics of pancreatic cancer in older adults have not been systematically studied.

Methods: This study used data on pancreatic cancer in older adults from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 project. Temporal trends were measured using average annual percentage change and predicted using a Bayesian age-period-cohort model. In addition, the inequality slope index and the health concentration index scores were calculated to quantify the unequal distribution of the burden of pancreatic cancer in older adults.

Results: Between 1990 and 2019, the number of pancreatic cancer deaths in older adults, age-standardized death rate (ASDR), disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and age-standardized DALY rate increased globally. In 2019, ASDR and age-standardized DALY rate for pancreatic cancer in older adults were the highest in Southern Latin America, whereas the burden has grown the fastest over the past 30 years in the Caribbean. The burden is predominantly distributed among those aged 65 to 74 years, with males having a higher burden than that of females. The global proportion of pancreatic cancer deaths in older adults attributed to smoking, high fasting plasma glucose, and high body mass index were 21.7%, 10.3%, and 5.8%, respectively. Both absolute and relative cross-national inequalities declined over the past 30 years but remained at medium-high levels of relative inequality. Deaths from pancreatic cancer among older adults are expected to continue to increase over the next 11 years.

Conclusion: The global burden of pancreatic cancer among older adults has continued to rise over the past 30 years, and cross-national health inequalities remain high. Therefore, targeted measures must be taken to address this inequality.