Impact of Demographic Trends on Antimicrobial Resistance

Medical advancements in the twenty-first century significantly contribute to increased longevity and the
current global demographic trends, including population aging. While rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
threatens the sustainability of longevity prospects, the current demographic trends also contribute to
worsening AMR. We investigate the role of four demographic indicators (population growth, population
aging, population density, and urbanization) in the resistance growth of seven pathogens against twelve
antimicrobials in 30 countries from 2000 to 2020. We observe heterogeneous responses of different
antimicrobial drug-pathogen combinations to demographic trends. We observe that the demographic
trends could affect resistance growth more than antimicrobial consumption growth in some antimicrobialdrug
pathogen combinations. We emphasize the importance of a broader exploration of factors affecting
AMR evolution from a one-health approach and enhanced AMR surveillance, among others, to produce
effective policy responses to tame AMR.