Global Burden of Disease from Environmental Factors

Estimation of the disease burden attributable to environmental factors is a powerful tool for prioritizing environmental and pollution management and public health actions around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) began estimating the environmental disease burden in 2000, which has formed the basis for the modern estimation approach conducted in the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor (GBD) study. In 2021, environmental and occupational risk factors in the GBD were responsible for 18.9% (12.8 million) of global deaths and 14.4% of all disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), led by ambient PM_2.5 air pollution (4.2% DALYs, 4.7 million deaths) and household air pollution from the use of solid fuels for cooking (3.9% DALYs, 3.1 million deaths). Climate change exacerbates many environmental hazards, leading to increased disease burdens from heat, air pollution, vector-borne diseases, storms, and flooding. Other environmental risk factors not included in the GBD, such as poor indoor air quality, various chemical exposures, and environmental noise pollution, also significantly contribute to disease burden in many countries, though more efforts are needed to generate and integrate data resources for inclusion in global estimations.