Global, regional, and national burden of neonatal diseases attributable to fine particulate matter air pollution, 1990–2050

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution constitutes a significant hazard to the well-being and survival of children everywhere, posing particularly dire risks to neonates. However, the neonatal disease burden attributable to PM2.5 pollution remains unclear worldwide. Data on neonatal diseases attributable to PM2.5 pollution were obtained and collected from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2021. The main outcome was the age-standardized disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) rate (ASDR) and age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) per 100 000 population of neonatal diseases caused by PM2.5 pollution. These metrics were stratified by sex, region, country, and disease. The correlations, trends, and projections of the burden were also analyzed. Globally, there were approximately 497.0 thousand deaths and 44737.3 thousand DALYs from neonatal diseases caused by PM2.5 pollution in 2021. From 1990 to 2021, the overall ASDR (1120.4 to 723.1) and ASMR (12.5 to 8.0) showed a downward trend. However, the ASDR of neonatal diseases attributable to PM2.5 pollution was high in Sub-Saharan Africa (1717.1 to 1235.8) and South Asia (2010.4 to 1148.1), especially regarding household PM2.5 pollution. The higher ASDR attributable to PM2.5 pollution was observed in neonatal encephalopathy due to birth asphyxia and trauma and neonatal preterm birth. By 2050, the ASDR of neonatal disease impacts from household PM2.5 pollution remain persistently high. Neonatal disease burden attributable to PM2.5 pollution remains a crucial health issue in children. Targeted strategies to improve PM2.5 air quality and neonatal disease burden are essential.