Background Public health is a priority for the Chinese Government. Evidence-based decision making for health at the province level in China, which is home to a fifth of the global population, is of paramount importance. This analysis uses data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017 to help inform decision making and monitor progress on health at the province level. Methods We used the methods in GBD 2017 to analyse health patterns in the 34 province-level administrative units in China from 1990 to 2017. We estimated all-cause and cause-specific mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), summary exposure values (SEVs), and attributable risk. We compared the observed results with expected values estimated based on the Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings Stroke and ischaemic heart disease were the leading causes of death and DALYs at the national level in China in 2017. Age-standardised DALYs per 100 000 population decreased by 33•1% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 29•8 to 37•4) for stroke and increased by 4•6% (-3•3 to 10•7) for ischaemic heart disease from 1990 to 2017. Agestandardised stroke, ischaemic heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and liver cancer were the five leading causes of YLLs in 2017. Musculoskeletal disorders, mental health disorders, and sense organ diseases were the three leading causes of YLDs in 2017, and high systolic blood pressure, smoking, high-sodium diet, and ambient particulate matter pollution were among the leading four risk factors contributing to deaths and DALYs. All provinces had higher than expected DALYs per 100 000 population for liver cancer, with the observed to expected ratio ranging from 2•04 to 6•88. The all-cause age-standardised DALYs per 100 000 population were lower than expected in all provinces in 2017, and among the top 20 level 3 causes were lower than expected for ischaemic heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, headache disorder, and low back pain. The largest percentage change at the national level in age-standardised SEVs among the top ten leading risk factors was in high body-mass index (185%, 95% UI 113•1 to 247•7]), followed by ambient particulate matter pollution (88•5%, 66•4 to 116•4). Interpretation China has made substantial progress in reducing the burden of many diseases and disabilities. Strategies targeting chronic diseases, particularly in the elderly, should be prioritised in the expanding Chinese health-care system.

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IMPORTANCE Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the top cause of death in China. To our knowledge, no consistent and comparable assessments of CVD burden have been produced at subnational levels, and little is understood about the spatial patterns and temporal trends of CVD in China. OBJECTIVE To determine the national and province-level burden of CVD from 1990 to 2016 in China. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Following the methodology framework and analytical strategies used in the 2016 Global Burden of Disease study, the mortality, prevalence, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) of CVD in the Chinese population were examined by age, sex, and year and according to 10 subcategories. Estimates were produced for all province-level administrative units of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao. EXPOSURES Residence in China. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Mortality, prevalence, and DALYs of CVD. RESULTS The annual number of deaths owing to CVD increased from 2.51 million to 3.97 million between 1990 and 2016; the age-standardized mortality rate fell by 28.7%, from 431.6 per 100 000 persons in 1990 to 307.9 per 100 000 in 2016. Prevalent cases of CVD doubled since 1990, reaching nearly 94 million in 2016. The age-standardized prevalence rate of CVD overall increased significantly from 1990 to 2016 by 14.7%, as did rates for ischemic heart disease (19.1%), ischemic stroke (36.6%), cardiomyopathy and myocarditis (23.1%), and endocarditis (26.7%). Substantial reduction in the CVD burden, as measured by age-standardized DALY rate, was observed from 1990 to 2016 nationally, with a greater reduction in women (43.7%) than men (24.7%). There were marked differences in the spatial patterns of mortality, prevalence, and DALYs of CVD overall as well as its main subcategories, including ischemic heart disease, hemorrhagic stroke, and ischemic stroke. The CVD burden appeared to be lower in coastal provinces with higher economic development. The between-province gap in relative burden of CVD increased from 1990 to 2016, with faster decline in economically developed provinces. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Substantial discrepancies in the total CVD burden and burdens of CVD subcategories have persisted between provinces in China despite a relative decrease in the CVD burden. Geographically targeted considerations are needed to tailor future strategies to enhance CVD health throughout China and in specific provinces.

SummaryBackgroundAs one of only a handful of countries that have achieved both Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5, China has substantially lowered maternal mortality in the past two decades. Little is known, however, about the levels and trends of maternal mortality at the county level in China.MethodsUsing a national registration system of maternal mortality at the county level, we estimated the maternal mortality ratios for 2852 counties in China between 1996 and 2015. We used a state-of-the-art Bayesian small-area estimation hierarchical model with latent Gaussian layers to account for space and time correlations among neighbouring counties. Estimates at the county level were then scaled to be consistent with country-level estimates of maternal mortality for China, which were separately estimated from multiple data sources. We also assessed maternal mortality ratios among ethnic minorities in China and computed Gini coefficients of inequality of maternal mortality ratios at the country and provincial levels.FindingsChina as a country has experienced fast decline in maternal mortality ratios, from 108·7 per 100 000 livebirths in 1996 to 21·8 per 100 000 livebirths in 2015, with an annualised rate of decline of 8·5% per year, which is much faster than the target pace in MDG 5. However, we found substantial heterogeneity in levels and trends at the county level. In 1996, the range of maternal mortality ratios by county was 16·8 per 100 000 livebirths in Shantou, Guangdong, to 3510·3 per 100 000 livebirths in Zanda County, Tibet. Almost all counties showed remarkable decline in maternal mortality ratios in the two decades regardless of those in 1996. The annualised rate of decline across counties from 1996 to 2015 ranges from 4·4% to 12·9%, and 2838 (99·5%) of the 2852 counties had achieved the MDG 5 pace of decline. Decline accelerated between 2005 and 2015 compared with between 1996 and 2005. In 2015, the lowest county-level maternal mortality ratio was 3·4 per 100 000 livebirths in Nanhu District, Zhejiang Province. The highest was still in Zanda County, Tibet, but the fall to 830·5 per 100 000 livebirths was only 76·3%. 26 ethnic groups had population majorities in at least one county in China, and all had achieved declines in maternal mortality ratios in line with the pace of MDG 5. Intercounty Gini coefficients for maternal mortality ratio have declined at the national level in China, indicating improved equality, whereas trends in inequality at the provincial level varied.InterpretationIn the past two decades, maternal mortality ratios have reduced rapidly and universally across China at the county level. Fast improvement in maternal mortality ratios is possible even in less economically developed places with resource constraints. This finding has important implications for improving maternal mortality ratios in developing countries in the Sustainable Development Goal era.FundingNational Health and Family Planning Commission of the People's Republic of China, China Medical Board, WHO, University of ...