Global trends and differences in the burden of alcohol use disorders attributable to childhood sexual abuse by sex, age, and socio-demographic index: Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a severe global problem associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Previous studies have confirmed this relationship; however, there is a lack of research on the disease burden of AUD attributable to CSA. Objective: To analyze global spatiotemporal trends and differences in the disease burden of AUD attributable to CSA and its relationship with age, sex, and the sociodemographic index (SDI). Participants and setting: Data from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Public Database. Methods: Summary exposure value (SEV) was used to evaluate CSA. Disability-adjusted life year (DALY), years lived with disability (YLD), years of life lost (YLL), and their annual rates of change were used to evaluate disease burden. Cluster analysis based on Ward's method was used to examine the global burden associated with age, sex, and SDI. A 95 % uncertainty intervals (UI), excluding 0, was considered statistically significant. Results: In 2019, 1.63 million (95 % UI 0.23-3.90 million) DALYs of AUD were caused by CSA and the age-standardized rates (ASRs) of DALY was 19.77 (95 % UI 2.78-47.46) globally. Annual rates of change in DALY of people over 65 years of age increased from 1990 to 2019 in all regions except the High-middle SDI regions. The ASRs of DALY of females in High SDI regions, were always at a much higher level than other SDI regions, and showed an upward trend from 1990 to 2019 (DALY 1990: 20.38 [95 % UI 2.87-47.77], 2019: 23.61 [95 % UI 3.55-54.94]). Conclusions: Substantial geographical differences were observed in the burden of AUD attributable to CSA. The level of CSA exposure was inconsistent with the related burden of AUD in different regions according to the sociodemographic index. The burden of disease increased in the elderly population and in females in high sociodemographic index regions.