OBJECTIVE

Pancreatic cancer poses a serious medical problem worldwide. Studies have reported the relationship between smoking and cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the burden of pancreatic cancer attributable to smoking and its global, regional and national trends, patterns and alterations from 1990 to 2019.

METHODS

Data were extracted from the Global Health Data Exchange query tool, including deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and age-standardized rates (ASRs). Measures were stratified by sex, age, region, country/territory and sociodemographic index (SDI). We used Joinpoint regression to determine the secular trend of ASRs by calculating the average annual percentage change (AAPC).

RESULTS

In 2019, smoking risk-related deaths and DALYs accounted for 21.3% and 21.1% of global pancreatic cancer, respectively. There were 113,384 (95% UI 98,830 to 128,466) deaths of smoking-attributable pancreatic cancer worldwide in 2019, of which 64.1% were in males. The disease burden was higher in males than in females. High-income regions or large population regions had the higher disease burden. East Asia carried the highest number of smoking-attributable pancreatic cancer deaths and DALYs. The Caribbean had the fastest increasing rate (AAPC = 3.849, 95% CI 3.310 to 4.391) of age-standardized death rate over the past 30 years. In 2019, China had the highest number of deaths, which was followed by the USA and Japan. There was a trend of increasing ASDR along with increases in SDI.

CONCLUSION

Variations existed in the smoking risk-related pancreatic cancer burden among different sexes, age groups, regions and countries/territories. The burden of smoking-attributable pancreatic cancer should be considered an important health issue. Future strategies should include comprehensive policies to control tobacco use.