Abstract
Objectives: To report the burden of cancers and their attributable risk factors among Iranian adults aged 70 and older by age, sex and type of cancer from 1990 to 2019.
Design: Systematic analysis.
Outcome measures: Data on the incidence, death, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to cancers were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2019 for Iranian adults aged 70 and older from 1990 to 2019. The counts and age-standardized rates (per 100000) were reported, as well as 95% uncertainty intervals.
Results: In 2019, cancers had an age-standardized incidence rate of 10985.6 per 100000for adults aged 70 and above in Iran and an age-standardized death rate of 853.2, which was 13.8% higher than in 1990. In 2019, the age-standardized DALY rate was 11892.5, which had not changed significantly since 1990. The age-standardized DALY rates of cancers, among Iranian adults aged 70 and older, were the highest and lowest in Ardebil (17246.2) and Hormozgan (7723.1), respectively. The age-standardized DALY rates peaked in the 75-79 age group and then reduced with advancing age. The rates for males were higher than for females. Nationally, high tobacco consumption (18.0%), high body mass index (BMI) (5.1%), high fasting plasma glucose (5.0%), and dietary risks (5.0%) had the four highest attributable DALYs for cancers in 2019. Finally, stomach cancer, tracheal, bronchus and lung cancer, and colon and rectum cancer had the highest DALY rates among the elderly Iranian population in 2019.
Conclusions: Despite the steady incidence rate of cancers, the mortality rate among elderly Iranians has risen over the last three decades. The implementation of cancer prevention measures, in particular screening programs, would help alleviate the future increase in the burden of cancer among the elderly in Iran.