Shifting Burden of Neural Tube Defects from Early-Life Mortality to an Aging Population Living with Disability - China, 1990-2023.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS TOPIC?: The burden of neural tube defects (NTDs) has declined with folic acid supplementation and fortification, but comprehensive all-age estimates are lacking. WHAT IS ADDED BY THIS REPORT?: Using data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023, we assessed the all-age NTD burden in China during 1990-2023. Incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rates declined significantly, whereas prevalence increased among adults aged ≥50 years and DALY rates increased among those aged ≥75 years, indicating a shift from early-life mortality to disability in an aging population. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE?: Life-course care should combine primary prevention, long-term rehabilitation and multidisciplinary management for people with NTDs.