Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mortality rate trends in Taiwan, 2002-2022: a joinpoint regression analysis

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Respiratory Medicine

Background:

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of death in Taiwan.
• Despite advancements in COPD management, mortality trends require ongoing analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze COPD mortality rates in Taiwan between 2002 and 2022.
• To identify trends in COPD mortality across different demographics and regions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Taiwan's National Health Statistics and Ministry of the Interior's Demographic Yearbook for COPD mortality and population data.
• Sourced global COPD mortality data from the WHO mortality database for comparative analysis.
• Employed joinpoint analysis to assess age-specific and age-standardized mortality rate trends by sex and region.

Main Results:

• Over 100,000 COPD deaths occurred in Taiwan from 2002 to 2022.
• The age-standardized COPD mortality rate decreased by an average of 3.79% annually, with a more significant decline in women (-4.28%) than men (-3.79%).
• The most substantial decrease in COPD mortality (AAPC: -7.70%) was observed from 2016 to 2022, particularly in older populations and most counties.

Conclusions:

• COPD mortality rates in Taiwan showed a considerable decline between 2002 and 2022, varying by sex and region.
• Taiwan's COPD mortality reduction ranks third in Asia, following the Republic of Korea and Singapore.
• Effective tobacco control initiatives and national COPD care programs likely contributed to these observed reductions.