Antibiotic-resistant deaths in older populations predicted to double by 2050

The study by the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project is the first global analysis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) trends over time.

It revealed that between 1990 and 2021, more than one million people died each year because of AMR.

The study estimates that 1.91m people could potentially die as a direct result of AMR in 2050, an increase of almost 70 per cent per year compared to 2022. Over the same period, the number of deaths in which AMR bacteria play a role will increase by almost 75 per cent from 4.71m to 8.22m per year.

Between 1990 and 2021, AMR deaths among children under five years old declined by 50 per cent, while those among people aged 70 years and older increased by more than 80 per cent. These trends have been predicted to continue in the coming decades, with AMR deaths among children under five projected to halve by 2050 globally, as deaths among people 70 years and older more than double.