Background:

For thirty years, Mexico has studied the burden of disease in order to inform health decisions.

Objective:

To analyze the burden of disease, injuries, and risk factors in Mexico between 1990 and 2021.

Material and methods:

Estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study were used to analyze mortality, years of life lost due to premature mortality, years lived with disability and disability-adjusted life years, as well as the burden attributable to risk factors by sex, age and state of the country.

Results:

Infant mortality decreased by 39.4% from 1990 to 2000 and by 49.0% from 2000 to 2019. At the national level, mortality decreased by 27.5% between 1990 and 2019, but increased in 2020 and 2021 across all states, especially in adults aged from 35 to 64 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which contributed with 24.3% of deaths in 2019. Significant differences in mortality were observed according to age and sex. The burden attributable to metabolic risk factors did increase, while alcohol and tobacco consumption decreased. Access to drinking water and sanitation showed improvements.

Conclusions:

Assessing the burden of disease is crucial in order to design effective strategies to address current health needs and future healthcare challenges.