The breast cancer related burden of morbidity and mortality in six European countries: the European Disability Weights project

BACKGROUND: The burden of breast cancer expressed in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) was compared for six European countries and its sensitivity to different sources of variation examined. METHODS: DALYs were calculated using country-specific epidemiological data and European Disability Weights. Epidemiological data for 1996 were obtained for Denmark, England and Wales, France, The Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. Disability weights were empirically derived. RESULTS: Denmark and The Netherlands lost the largest number of DALYs (approximately 1100 DALYs per 100,000 women). They were followed by England (87% of the Danish burden), France (72%), Sweden (68%) and Spain (67%). 70 to 80% of the burden was caused by mortality. Cross-national variation in disease epidemiology was the largest source of variation in the burden of breast cancer. Variation in disability weights and uncertainty in epidemiological data had smaller effects. CONCLUSION: To compare the burden of breast cancer and most other types of cancer mortality rates provide sufficient information.     

A national burden of disease calculation: Dutch disability-adjusted life-years. Dutch Burden of Disease Group

OBJECTIVES: This study estimated the burden of disease due to 48 major causes in the Netherlands in 1994 in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), using national epidemiologic data and disability weights, and explored associated problems and uncertainties. METHODS: We combined data from Dutch vital statistics, registrations, and surveys with Dutch disability weights to calculate disease-specific health loss in DALYs, which are the sum of years of life lost (YLLs) and years lived with disability (YLDs) weighted for severity. RESULTS: YLLs were primarily lost by cardiovascular diseases and cancers, while YLDs were mostly lost by mental disorders and a range of chronic somatic disorders (such as chronic nonspecific lung disease and diabetes). These 4 diagnostic groups caused approximately equal numbers of DALYs. Sensitivity analysis calls for improving the accuracy of the epidemiologic data in connection with disability weights, especially for mild and frequent diseases. CONCLUSIONS: The DALY approach appeared to be feasible at a national Western European level and produced interpretable results, comparable to results from the Global Burden of Disease Study for the Established Market Economies. Suggestions for improving the methodology and its applicability are presented.     

Estimating the effectiveness of a hospital’s interventions in India: impact of the choice of disability weights

ObjectiveTo calculate the effect of using two different sets of disability weights for estimates of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) averted by interventions delivered in one hospital in India.MethodsDALYs averted by surgical and non-surgical interventions were estimated for 3445 patients who were admitted to a 106-bed private hospital in a semi-urban area of northern India in 2012–2013. Disability weights were taken from global burden of disease (GBD) studies. We used the GBD 1990 disability weights and then repeated all of our calculations using the corresponding GBD 2010 weights. DALYs averted were estimated for surgical and non-surgical interventions using disability weight, risk of death and/or disability, and effectiveness of treatment.FindingsThe disability weights assigned in the GBD 1990 study to the sequelae of conditions such as cataract, cancer and injuries were substantially different to those assigned in the GBD 2010 study. These differences in weights led to large differences in estimates of DALYs averted. For all surgical interventions delivered to this patient cohort, 11 517 DALYs were averted if we used the GDB 1990 weights and 9401 DALYs were averted if we used the GDB 2010 disability weights. For non-surgical interventions 5168 DALYs were averted using the GDB 1990 disability weights and 5537 DALYS were averted using the GDB 2010 disability weights.ConclusionEstimates of the effectiveness of hospital interventions depend upon the disability weighting used. Researchers and resource allocators need to be very cautious when comparing results from studies that have used different sets of disability weights.     

Measuring the Burden of Disease in Korea, 2008-2018

The study aims to examine the current status and differences in the burden of disease in Korea during 2008-2018. We calculated the burden of disease for Koreans from 2008 to 2018 using an incidence-based approach. Disability adjusted life years (DALYs) were expressed in units per 100 000 population by adding years of life lost (YLLs) and years lived with disability (YLDs). DALY calculation results were presented by gender, age group, disease, region, and income level. To explore differences in DALYs by region and income level, we used administrative district and insurance premium information from the National Health Insurance Service claims data. The burden of disease among Koreans showed an increasing trend from 2008 to 2018. By 2017, the burden of disease among men was higher than that among women. Diabetes mellitus, low back pain, and chronic lower respiratory disease were ranked high in the burden of disease; the sum of DALY rates for these diseases accounted for 18.4% of the total burden of disease among Koreans in 2018. The top leading causes associated with a high burden of disease differed slightly according to gender, age group, and income level. In this study, we measured the health status of Koreans and differences in the population health level according to gender, age group, region, and income level. This data can be used as an indicator of health equity, and the results derived from this study can be used to guide community-centered (or customized) health promotion policies and projects, and for setting national health policy goals.     

Systematic review of general burden of disease studies using disability-adjusted life years

Objective

To systematically review the methodology of general burden of disease studies. Three key questions were addressed: 1) what was the quality of the data, 2) which methodological choices were made to calculate disability adjusted life years (DALYs), and 3) were uncertainty and risk factor analyses performed? Furthermore, DALY outcomes of the included studies were compared.

Methods

Burden of disease studies (1990 to 2011) in international peer-reviewed journals and in grey literature were identified with main inclusion criteria being multiple-cause studies that quantified the burden of disease as the sum of the burden of all distinct diseases expressed in DALYs. Electronic database searches included Medline (PubMed), EMBASE, and Web of Science. Studies were collated by study population, design, methods used to measure mortality and morbidity, risk factor analyses, and evaluation of results.

Results

Thirty-one studies met the inclusion criteria of our review. Overall, studies followed the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) approach. However, considerable variation existed in disability weights, discounting, age-weighting, and adjustments for uncertainty. Few studies reported whether mortality data were corrected for missing data or underreporting. Comparison with the GBD DALY outcomes by country revealed that for some studies DALY estimates were of similar magnitude; others reported DALY estimates that were two times higher or lower.

Conclusions

Overcoming “error” variation due to the use of different methodologies and low-quality data is a critical priority for advancing burden of disease studies. This can enlarge the detection of true variation in DALY outcomes between populations or over time.

     

某市居民主要恶性肿瘤疾病负担分析

摘要:目的　分析2014年某市居民主要恶性瘤疾病负担情况,为卫生行政部门制定肿瘤防治措施提供参考依据。方法　对2014年某市居民主要恶性肿瘤发病和死亡病例资料进行统计分析,利用全球疾病负担研究中使用的专门公式计算恶性肿瘤的死亡损失生命年（YLL）、伤残损失年（YLD）和伤残调整寿命年（DALY）评价该地居民主要恶性肿瘤的疾病负担。结果　该地居民由恶性肿瘤导致的疾病负担为每千人22.7251个DALYs,其中YLLs为17.2218,占75.78%,YLDs为5.5033,占24.22%。DALY前5位的恶性肿瘤为肝癌（26.59%）、肺癌（14.50%）、胃癌（7.91%）、宫颈癌（7.47%）、鼻咽癌（4.00%）,占到该市居民全部恶性肿瘤疾病负担的60.47%。男性居民由恶性肿瘤导致的疾病负担为女性的1.70倍,肝癌、肺癌、胃癌、肠癌、白血病的DALYs男性高于女性,而鼻咽癌、胰腺癌、淋巴癌的DALYs女性高于男性,男性与女性DALY顺位有所不同。结论　该市居民恶性肿瘤疾病负担主要由早死所致,肝癌、肺癌、胃癌、宫颈癌和鼻咽癌是恶性肿瘤防治的重点。     

Assessing the burden of disease in the United States using disability-adjusted life years

OBJECTIVES: Burden of disease studies have been implemented in many countries using the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) to assess major health problems. METHODS: We applied methods developed by the World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO) to data specific to the United States to compute DALYs. We compared the results of this analysis to international estimates published by WHO for developed and developing regions of the world. RESULTS: In the mid-1990s, the leading sources of premature death and disability in the United States, as measured by DALYs, were cardiovascular conditions, breast and lung cancers, depression, osteoarthritis, diabetes mellitus, and alcohol use and abuse. In addition, motor vehicle-related injuries and the HIV epidemic exacted a substantial toll on the health status of the U.S. population, particularly among racial/ethnic minorities. The major sources of death and disability in these latter populations were more similar to patterns of burden in developing rather than developed countries. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis provides the first detailed, comprehensive estimates using DALYs of the fatal and nonfatal conditions that exact large health burdens in the United States.     

Assessing the burden of injury in six European countries

OBJECTIVE: To assess injury-related mortality, disability and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in six European countries. METHODS: Epidemiological data (hospital discharge registers, emergency department registers, mortality databases) were obtained for Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom (England and Wales). For each country, the burden of injury was estimated in years lost due to premature mortality (YLL), years lived with disability (YLD), and DALYs (per 1000 persons). FINDINGS: We observed marked differences in the burden of injury between countries. Austria lost the largest number of DALYs (25 per 1000 persons), followed by Denmark, Norway and Ireland (17-20 per 1000 persons). In the Netherlands and United Kingdom, the total burden due to injuries was relatively low (12 per 1000 persons). The variation between countries was attributable to a high variation in premature mortality (YLL varied from 9-17 per 1000 persons) and disability (YLD varied from 2-8 per 1000 persons). In all countries, males aged 25-44 years represented one third of the total injury burden, mainly due to traffic and intentional injuries. Spinal cord injury and skull-brain injury resulted in the highest burden due to permanent disability. CONCLUSION: The burden of injury varies considerably among the six participating European countries, but males aged 15-24 years are responsible for a disproportionate share of the assessed burden of injury in all countries. Consistent injury control policy is supported by high-quality summary measures of population health. There is an urgent need for standardized data on the incidence and functional consequences of injury.     

先天性心脏病疾病负担分析

目的:分析先天性心脏病患者的直接医疗费用及应用伤残调整生命年(DALY)对该病疾病负担进行综合评价。方法:采用SPSS 13.0统计软件进行数据录入,资料整理、分析和统计;采用描述性统计分析、方差分析和多元逐步回归分析,同时引用新的评价指标DALY来分析先天性心脏病的疾病负担。结果:2 328例住院患者的人均损失健康生命年为3.85人年,其中男性平均损失4.48人年,女性平均损失3.39人年;0～14岁年龄组人均损失健康生命年最多为5.07人年;不同年龄组、不同出院情况、不同职业、手术与否,平均住院费用均有显著差异。结论:先天性心脏病疾病负担较重,尤其是年龄较低的人群,防治地位十分突出。     

汉中市农村脑卒中患者失能调整生命年的研究

目的了解脑卒中造成农村人口的疾病负担,为促进我国脑卒中疾病负担的研究及今后卫生资源的合理配置提供参考;同时简化失能调整生命年(DALY)运算中失能的评估方式。方法整群抽样,采用自行设计的问卷,入户调查,调查脑卒中全部现患患者164人。问卷内容主要包括一般情况和失能的评估。结果汉中市农村脑卒中患者DALY为598.88 a,其中因死亡损失了471.05 a,失能损失了127.83 a,患者平均损失3.65个DALYs,汉中市农村人口每千人损失8.0个DALYs;以70~74岁年龄组损失最多;失能损失中,以65~69岁年龄组为最多,死亡的损失中,以55~59岁年龄组为最多,按性别分组后,男性损失343.26个DALYs,女性损失255.62个DALYs,分别占总损失的57.3%和42.7%。男性以55~59岁年龄组损失最多,女性以65~69岁年龄组损失最多。40~44岁年龄组的每个患者平均损失数最多,按残疾期限分组后,残疾1~4 a的损失DALY最多。将患者按照失能程度分组,存活的患者中,失能程度0.01~0.10的人数最多,失能程度0.51~0.60的DALY最多,失能程度0.51~0.60的人均DALY最多,达2.78个DALYs。结论脑卒中对我国造成的疾病负担高于发达国家,一方面可能由于我国脑卒中发病率和死亡率比较高,另一方面可能由于DALY本身的缺陷导致我国疾病负担的高估。     

慢性乙肝、乙肝后肝硬化和肝癌的疾病负担

目的：分析慢性乙型肝炎、乙肝后肝硬化和肝癌病人的疾病负担。方法：采用失能调整寿命年指标测量慢性乙肝、肝硬化和肝癌病人的疾病负担。结果：在所研究人群中，病人一生损失的健康寿命年，慢性乙肝为男10.94、女13.38，肝硬化为男20.53、女16.32，肝癌为男17.78、女15.19。结论：慢性乙肝、肝硬化和肝癌病人不仅因失能和早逝导致健康寿命年的损失，而且由于疾病对劳动力的严重影响也给社会带来沉重的负担。     

The burden of disease from indoor air pollution in developing countries: comparison of estimates

Four different methods have been applied to estimate the burden of disease due to indoor air pollution from household solid fuel use in developing countries (LDCs). The largest number of estimates involves applying exposure-response information from urban ambient air pollution studies to estimate indoor exposure concentrations of particulate air pollution. Another approach is to construct child survival curves using the results of large-scale household surveys, as has been done for India. A third approach involves cross-national analyses of child survival and household fuel use. The fourth method, referred to as the 'fuel-based' approach, which is explored in more depth here, involves applying relative risk estimates from epidemiological studies that use exposure surrogates, such as fuel type, to estimates of household solid fuel use to determine population attributable fractions by disease and age group. With this method and conservative assumptions about relative risks, 4-5 percent of the global LDC totals for both deaths and DALYs (disability adjusted life years) from acute respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis, asthma, lung cancer, ischaemic heart disease, and blindness can be attributed to solid fuel use in developing countries. Acute respiratory infections in children under five years of age are the largest single category of deaths (64%) and DALYs (81%) from indoor air pollution, apparently being responsible globally for about 1.2 million premature deaths annually in the early 1990s.     

Burden of Disease from Toxic Waste Sites in India,Indonesia, and the Philippines in 2010

Background: Prior calculations of the burden of disease from toxic exposures have not included estimates of the burden from toxic waste sites due to the absence of exposure data.Objective: We developed a disability-adjusted life year (DALY)-based estimate of the disease burden attributable to toxic waste sites. We focused on three low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.Methods: Sites were identified through the Blacksmith Institute’s Toxic Sites Identification Program, a global effort to identify waste sites in LMICs. At least one of eight toxic chemicals was sampled in environmental media at each site, and the population at risk estimated. By combining estimates of disease incidence from these exposures with population data, we calculated the DALYs attributable to exposures at each site.Results: We estimated that in 2010, 8,629,750 persons were at risk of exposure to industrial pollutants at 373 toxic waste sites in the three countries, and that these exposures resulted in 828,722 DALYs, with a range of 814,934–1,557,121 DALYs, depending on the weighting factor used. This disease burden is comparable to estimated burdens for outdoor air pollution (1,448,612 DALYs) and malaria (725,000 DALYs) in these countries. Lead and hexavalent chromium collectively accounted for 99.2% of the total DALYs for the chemicals evaluated.Conclusions: Toxic waste sites are responsible for a significant burden of disease in LMICs. Although some factors, such as unidentified and unscreened sites, may cause our estimate to be an underestimate of the actual burden of disease, other factors, such as extrapolation of environmental sampling to the entire exposed population, may result in an overestimate of the burden of disease attributable to these sites. Toxic waste sites are a major, and heretofore underrecognized, global health problem.     

The burden of disease and injury in Serbia

BACKGROUND: In the last decade of the 20th century, a considerable effort has been put into the development of summary measures of population health that combine information on mortality and non-fatal health outcomes. We used the DALYs (Disability adjusted life years) method to assess the burden of disease and injury in the population of Serbia. METHODS: Our study, largely based on the methods developed for the Global burden of disease study, was conducted between October 2002 and September 2003. DALYs, stratified by gender and age, were calculated for 18 selected health conditions for the population of Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro for 2000. Years of life lost (YLL) were calculated using country mortality statistics, while years lived with disability (YLD) were calculated using different sources of information. Also, the YLD/YYL ratio and age-adjusted rates of DALYs were calculated. RESULTS: Ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, lung cancer, unipolar depressive disorders, and diabetes mellitus were responsible for almost two-thirds (70%) of the total burden of 18 selected disorders in Serbia 2000. The leading five causes for males were ischaemic heart disease (26.1 DALY per 1000), stroke (17.9), lung cancer (12.7), road traffic accidents (6.5), and self-inflicted injuries (5.5). For females, the leading five causes were stroke (18.1 DALY per 1000), ischaemic heart disease (14.1), depression (8.7), breast cancer (6.1), and diabetes mellitus (5.2). CONCLUSIONS: The final results of the study have shown that the national health priority areas should cover cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and mental health.     

Steady state assumptions in DALYs: effect on estimates of HIV impact

OBJECTIVE: The disability adjusted life year (DALY) and the healthy life year (HeaLY) are both composite indicators of disease burden in a population, which combine healthy life lost from mortality and morbidity. The two formulations deal with the onset and course of a disease differently. The purpose of this paper is to compare the DALY and HeaLY formulations as to differences in apparent impact when a disease is not in an epidemiological steady state and to explore the implications of the differing results. DESIGN: HIV is used as a case study of a major disease that is entering its explosive growth phase in large areas of Asia. Data from the global burden of disease study of the World Bank and World Health Organisation for 1990 has been used to compare burden of disease measures in the two formulations. SETTING: The data pertain to global and regional estimates of HIV impact. RESULTS: The DALY attributes life lost from premature mortality to the year of death, while the HeaLY to the year of disease onset. This results in very large differences in estimates of healthy life lost based upon the DALY construct as compared with the HeaLY, for diseases such as HIV or those with a strong secular trend. CONCLUSION: The demonstration of the dramatic difference between the two indicators of disease burden reflects a limitation of the DALY. This information may directly influence decision making based on such methods and is critical to understand.     

Burden of four vaccine preventable diseases in older adults

BackgroundImplementation of additional targeted vaccinations to prevent infectious diseases in the older adults is under discussion in different countries. When considering the added value of such preventive measures, insight into the current disease burden will assist in prioritization. The aim of this study was derive the first estimates of the disease burden in adults aged 50 years or over in the Netherlands for influenza, pertussis, pneumococcal disease and herpes zoster.MethodsThe average annual disease burden for these four diseases in the Netherlands was calculated for the period 2010–2013 using the disability-adjusted life years (DALY) measure. Disease models and parameters were obtained from previous research. Where possible we adapted these models specifically for older adults and applied age-specific parameters derived from literature. The disease burden based on these adapted models and parameters was compared with the disease burden based on the general population models.ResultsThe estimated average annual disease burden was from high to low: pneumococcal disease (37,223 DALYs/year), influenza (7941 DALYs/year), herpes zoster (942 DALYs/year), and pertussis (812 DALYs/year). The adaptation of models and parameters specifically for the elderly resulted in a higher disease burden compared to the use of general population models.ConclusionsAmong older adults, the disease burden in the period 2010–2013 was highest for pneumococcal disease, mostly because of high mortality, followed by influenza. Disease burden of herpes zoster and pertussis was relatively low and consisted mostly of years lived with disability. Better information on the course of infectious diseases and long-term consequences would enable more accurate estimation of disease burden in older adults.     

辽宁省城乡居民糖尿病及其并发症疾病负担研究

目的了解辽宁省城乡居民糖尿病及其并发症的疾病负担水平和特征。方法依据辽宁省糖尿病患病和死亡资料,采用全球疾病负担研究方法,计算辽宁省城乡居民糖尿病的伤残调整生命年(DisabilityAdjusted Life Years,DALY)。结果辽宁省糖尿病疾病负担(DALY)每10万人损失健康寿命299.4人.a,女性高于男性(351.1/10万:252.3/10万),城市高于农村(474.1/10万:215.8/10万),农村YLD/YLL比值(0.47)明显低于城市(0.96)。结论辽宁省糖尿病DALY是GBD2000对中国糖尿病及其并发症疾病负担估计值的2.0倍,城市居民糖尿病DALY已接近发达国家水平。     

The burden of cancer in New Zealand: a comparison of incidence and DALY metrics and its relevance for ethnic disparities

Aim : Cancer burden measured in disability adjusted life years (DALYs) captures survival and disability impacts of incident cancers. In this paper, we estimate the prospective burden of disease arising from 27 cancer sites diagnosed in 2006, by sex and ethnicity; and determine how its distribution differs from that for incidence rates alone. Methods : Using a prospective approach, Markov and cancer disease models were used to estimate DALYs with inputs of population counts, incidence and excess mortality rates, disability weights, and background mortality. DALYs were discounted at 3.5% per year. Results : The age standardised Māori:non‐Māori incidence rate ratios were 1.00 for males and 1.19 for females, whereas for DALYs they were greater at 1.42 for males and 1.68 for females. The total burden of cancer for 2006 incident cases (i.e. not age standardised) was estimated to be approximately 127,000 DALYs. Breast (27%), lung (14%) and colorectal (13%) cancers for females and lung (16%), colorectal (14%), and prostate (16%) cancers for males were the top contributors. By ethnicity, Māori experienced a substantially higher burden from lung cancer (around 25% for both sexes). Conclusions: Due to Māori both having higher rates of cancers with a worse survival (e.g. lung cancer), and tending to have worse survival for each cancer site, ethnic disparities in the age‐standardised DALY burden were greater than those for incidence (rate ratios of 1.52 and 1.07 respectively, sexes pooled).     

失能调整寿命年与人力资本法结合估计间接经济负担的研究

目的介绍失能调整寿命年（DALY）与人力资本法结合估计间接经济负担的方法。方法按照全球疾病负担研究（GBD）中计算DALY的方法，以年龄组分别计算出DALY，再利用DALY与人力资本法结合的方法中推荐的生产力权重加权求和。结果首先在计算DALY中，固定取值均参照GBD，惟一的主观指标是失能评估，在GBD中，要求8～12名各个国家和地区的不同专业的专家组成团，采用人数交换法和时间交换法评估失能，显然这样的方法在大多数研究中均无法实现。采用稍加修改的日常生活行为能力（ADL）量表，按照GBD中失能的理解重新赋值后计算出失能权重；其次，依据国民生产总值（GNP）及不同年龄组在社会价值的创造中赋予的不同生产力权重，分别计算出不同年龄组的间接经济负担，最后相加求得总人口的间接经济负担。结论DALY与人力资本法结合的方法估算间接经济负担是目前较为合理的方法，但其中DALY的计算较困难。