TY - JOUR
T1 - Burden of hemoglobinopathies and hemolytic anemias in the World Health Organization African region, 2000–2021
T2 - Findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study
AU - GBD 2021 Hemoglobinopathies and Hemolytic Anemias Collaborators
AU - Ojo, Temitope T.
AU - Amegbor, Prince M.
AU - Islam, Farha
AU - Gyamfi, Joyce
AU - Mai, Andi
AU - Malburg, Carly M.
AU - Adenikinju, Deborah B.
AU - Kassebaum, Nicholas J.
AU - Abebe, Shimelis Tadesse
AU - Aboagye, Richard Gyan
AU - Amusa, Ganiyu Adeniyi
AU - Appiah, Seth Christopher Yaw
AU - Asmerom, Haftu Asmerom
AU - Chukwu, Isaac Sunday
AU - Dejenie, Tadesse Asmamaw
AU - Demisse, Fitsum Wolde
AU - Dessie, Gashaw
AU - Diress, Mengistie
AU - Esezobor, Christopher Imokhuede
AU - Eshetu, Habitu Birhan
AU - Fagbamigbe, Adeniyi Francis
AU - Fenta, Sefineh
AU - Gebremeskel, Teferi Gebru
AU - Ibitoye, Segun Emmanuel
AU - Kabthymer, Robel Hussen
AU - Kassahun, Woldeteklehaymanot Dagne
AU - Kibret, Biruk Getahun
AU - Okonji, Osaretin Christabel
AU - Owolabi, Mayowa O.
AU - Tshilolo, Léon Muepu M.
AU - Woldu, Berhanu
AU - Peprah, Emmanuel K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Ojo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2025/9
Y1 - 2025/9
N2 - Hemoglobinopathies and hemolytic anemias (HHA) are genetic blood disorders associated with diverse clinical complications, affecting an estimated 2.1 billion people worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) African Region accounts for approximately 425.8 million individuals, or 20% of the global HHA prevalence, yet comprehensive assessments of this burden have been lacking. We present the first systematic analysis of HHA burden in the WHO African Region from 2000–2021 using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study. We estimated regional, sex-, and age-specific rates (per 100,000 population) of mortality, incidence at birth, and years lived with disability (YLDs) in five-year intervals. Mortality estimates were generated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODEm), supplemented with spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression. Incidence at birth was estimated using DisMod-MR 2.1, a Bayesian meta-regression tool, while YLDs were calculated by multiplying prevalence by disability weights reflecting severity and duration. Between 2000 and 2021, the WHO African Region experienced persistently higher age-standardized death rates from HHA compared to global levels, although regional mortality declined over the period. Sickle cell disorder (SCD) was the predominant contributor, with the highest mortality [3.68 deaths (95% UI 2.04–6.29) per 100,000] and disability burden [41.08 YLDs (95% UI 26.09–58.61)], while thalassemias contributed the least. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were concentrated in western sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 71.3% of the regional burden. Age-specific estimates revealed that children under five years faced a disproportionate share of mortality and disability. Despite overall declines in mortality, the WHO African Region continues to bear a disproportionate global burden of HHA, particularly affecting young children. These findings underscore the urgent need for strengthened newborn screening, early treatment, and health system interventions to reduce preventable deaths and disability.
AB - Hemoglobinopathies and hemolytic anemias (HHA) are genetic blood disorders associated with diverse clinical complications, affecting an estimated 2.1 billion people worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) African Region accounts for approximately 425.8 million individuals, or 20% of the global HHA prevalence, yet comprehensive assessments of this burden have been lacking. We present the first systematic analysis of HHA burden in the WHO African Region from 2000–2021 using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study. We estimated regional, sex-, and age-specific rates (per 100,000 population) of mortality, incidence at birth, and years lived with disability (YLDs) in five-year intervals. Mortality estimates were generated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODEm), supplemented with spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression. Incidence at birth was estimated using DisMod-MR 2.1, a Bayesian meta-regression tool, while YLDs were calculated by multiplying prevalence by disability weights reflecting severity and duration. Between 2000 and 2021, the WHO African Region experienced persistently higher age-standardized death rates from HHA compared to global levels, although regional mortality declined over the period. Sickle cell disorder (SCD) was the predominant contributor, with the highest mortality [3.68 deaths (95% UI 2.04–6.29) per 100,000] and disability burden [41.08 YLDs (95% UI 26.09–58.61)], while thalassemias contributed the least. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were concentrated in western sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 71.3% of the regional burden. Age-specific estimates revealed that children under five years faced a disproportionate share of mortality and disability. Despite overall declines in mortality, the WHO African Region continues to bear a disproportionate global burden of HHA, particularly affecting young children. These findings underscore the urgent need for strengthened newborn screening, early treatment, and health system interventions to reduce preventable deaths and disability.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105016559961
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pgph.0005197
DO - 10.1371/journal.pgph.0005197
M3 - Article
C2 - 40982566
AN - SCOPUS:105016559961
SN - 2767-3375
VL - 5
JO - PLOS Global Public Health
JF - PLOS Global Public Health
IS - 9 September
M1 - e0005197
ER -