Research by Li Zijian's Team at Peking University Third Hospital Shows Global Surge in Clinical Guidelines Has Not Reduced Disease Burden

Author: Li Xialei

https://www.puh3.net.cn/info/1971/178061.htm

On July 20, 2026, the team led by Professor Li Zijian of Peking University Third Hospital published a research paper online in Nature Communications titled "A longitudinal analysis of published clinical practice guidelines and their effect on disease burden." The study reveals that although clinical practice guidelines worldwide are currently growing rapidly in number, this has not yet been effectively translated into the desired effect of reducing the global disease burden.

The study constructed a longitudinal database covering clinical guidelines published between 1995 and 2023, systematically analyzing the number published, update frequency, geographic and thematic distribution, and quality scores based on the AGREE II instrument for more than ten thousand clinical practice guidelines worldwide, and assessed the associations between the quantity and quality of guidelines and disease burden at the national level, and between national-level guideline development and disease burden.

Li Xialei, a doctoral student in the Department of Pharmacy, Peking University Third Hospital / Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, is the first author of the paper, and Professor Li Zijian is the corresponding author.         

Original link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-75668-4#Fun

Screenshot of the paper