• There has been research to determine the factors contributing to DALY in GBD that affect women more than men, but a systemic analysis reveals another layer of gender-based inequalities that offers an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of regional and worldwide trends.

• The absolute disparities between genders were calculated using the DALY rate for the 20 leading causes of disease.

• The DALY rates for females were higher than those for males for seven leading diseases.

• This includes diseases such as:

1. Low back pain

2. Depressive disorders

3. Headache disorders

4. Anxiety disorders

5. Various musculoskeletal diseases

6. Dementia

7. HIV/AIDS.

• It also found that the absolute differences between the age-standardized rates of DALYs for men and women changed gradually with time.

• In particular,

1. Depressive disorders had the second-largest absolute difference in DALY rates worldwide, affecting women disproportionately (1019·0 for females and 670·6 for males).

2. With 1767·8 more DALYs per 100,000 among males than among females in 2021, COVID-19 had the biggest absolute difference between genders globally given its overall magnitude.

3. Diabetes had an increase in the absolute difference between males and females in DALYs per 100,000, from 56·1 in 1990 to 142·7 in 2021, even though these conditions had an increase in the difference favoring females.

4. Between 1990 and 2021, the gap in HIV/AIDS between males and females grew from being nonexistent to negatively affecting women.

• The difference in global DALY rates for males and females across age categories, in 2021 for cirrhosis and other liver illnesses, chronic renal disease, tuberculosis, Alzheimer's disease, other dementias, cirrhosis, and other diseases remained unchanged. 

• Policymakers must consider the increasing morbidity rate among females and the growing proportion of females in aging populations.

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