Burden and Trends of Cervical Cancer in Ethiopia, from 1990 to 2023.

IntroductionGlobally, cervical cancer is a public health problem, contributing to a substantial proportion of morbidity, disability, and mortality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Tracking the burden of the disease using the latest GBD 2023 estimates to provide updated national and subnational evidence is crucial for policy modification and for assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of integrated interventions for its prevention and control.MethodsCervical cancer data on prevalence, incidence, mortality, disability-adjusted life years, years of life lost, and years lived with disability were extracted from the 2023 GBD Study for 11 regional states and two chartered cities in Ethiopia, from 1990 to 2023. The Bayesian meta-regression, disease modeling, and causes-of-death ensemble modeling methods were used to calculate fatal and non-fatal health metric values over time.ResultsThe GBD 2023 model estimated that the age-standardized prevalence rate was 487.84 cases per 100,000 females (95% UI: 241.24, 884.44), the incidence rate was 97.93 new cases per 100,000 females (95% UI: 54.16, 166.79), the mortality rate was 44.16 deaths per 100,000 females (95% UI: 25.84-73.59), the Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) rate was 1782.25 DALYs per 100,000 females (95% UI: 1013.95-2909.85), the Years of Life Lost (YLL) rate was 1744.11 YLLs per 100,000 females (95% UI: 991.60-2842.40), and the Years Lived with Disability (YLD) rate was 38.13 YLDs per 100,000 females (95% UI: 17.98-67.81), with notably varied inter-age category rates. A significant difference was observed in the mortality rate of cervical cancer in 2023 in Addis Ababa and the Southwest. The risk factor for cervical cancer was unsafe sex.ConclusionCervical cancer remains a significant public health problem in Ethiopia. The estimated age-standardized rates show increases, with notable sub-national differences. Mortality and years of life lost make up most of the burden, and unsafe sex is the primary risk factor, indicating late diagnosis and limited access to effective prevention and treatment services.