Dataset Information

Development of methodology for disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) calculation based on real-life data.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) have the advantage that effects on total health instead of on a specific disease incidence or mortality can be estimated. Our aim was to address several methodological points related to the computation of DALYs at an individual level in a follow-up study.

Methods

DALYs were computed for 33,507 men and women aged 20-70 years when participating in the EPIC-NL study in 1993-7. DALYs are the sum of the Years Lost due to Disability (YLD) and the Years of Life Lost (YLL) due to premature mortality. Premature mortality was defined as death before the estimated date of individual Life Expectancy (LE). Different methods to compute LE were compared as well as the effect of different follow-up periods using a two-part model estimating the effect of smoking status on health as an example.

Results

During a mean follow-up of 12.4 years, there were 69,245 DALYs due to years lived with a disease or premature death. Current-smokers had lost 1.28 healthy years of their life (1.28 DALYs 95%CI 1.10; 1.46) compared to never-smokers. The outcome varied depending on the method used for estimating LE, completeness of disease and mortality ascertainment and notably the percentage of extinction (duration of follow-up) of the cohort.

Conclusion

We conclude that the use of DALYs in a cohort study is an appropriate way to assess total disease burden in relation to a determinant. The outcome is sensitive to the LE calculation method and the follow-up duration of the cohort.

SUBMITTER: Struijk EA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3779209 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Development of methodology for disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) calculation based on real-life data.

Struijk Ellen A EA May Anne M AM Beulens Joline W J JW de Wit G Ardine GA Boer Jolanda M A JM Onland-Moret N Charlotte NC van der Schouw Yvonne T YT Bueno-de-Mesquita H Bas HB Hoekstra Jeljer J Peeters Petra H M PH

PloS one 20130920 9

<h4>Background</h4>Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) have the advantage that effects on total health instead of on a specific disease incidence or mortality can be estimated. Our aim was to address several methodological points related to the computation of DALYs at an individual level in a follow-up study.<h4>Methods</h4>DALYs were computed for 33,507 men and women aged 20-70 years when participating in the EPIC-NL study in 1993-7. DALYs are the sum of the Years Lost due to Disability (YLD ...[more]

PMID: 24073206

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Project description:BackgroundHealth impact assessment (HIA) studies are increasingly predicting the health effects of mode shifts in traffic. The challenge for such studies is to combine the health effects, caused by injuries, with the disease driven health effects, and to express the change in the health with a common health indicator. Disability-adjusted life year (DALY) combines years lived disabled or injured (YLD) and years of life lost (YLL) providing practical indicator to combine injuries with diseases. In this study, we estimate the average YLDs for one person injured in a transport crash to allow easy to use methods to predict health effects of transport injuries.MethodsWe calculated YLDs and YLLs for transport fatalities and injuries based on the data from the Swedish Traffic Accident Data Acquisition (STRADA). In STRADA, all the fatalities and most of the injuries in Sweden for 2007-2011 were recorded. The type of injury was recorded with the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) codes. In this study these AIS codes were aggregated to injury types, and YLDs were calculated for each victim by multiplying the type of injury with the disability weight and the average duration of that injury. YLLs were calculated by multiplying the age of the victim with life expectancy of that age and gender. YLDs and YLLs were estimated separately for different gender, mode of transport and location of the crash.ResultsThe average YLDs for injured person was 14.7 for lifelong injuries and 0.012 for temporal injuries. The average YLDs per injured person for lifelong injuries for pedestrians, cyclists and car occupants were 9.4, 12.8 and 18.4, YLDs, respectively. Lifelong injuries sustained in rural areas were on average 31% more serious than injuries in urban areas.ConclusionsThe results show that shifting modes of transport will not only change the likelihood of injuries but also the severity of injuries sustained, if injured. The results of this study can be used to predict DALY changes in HIA studies that take into account mode shifts between different transport modes, and in other studies predicting the health effects of traffic injuries.

Project description:BackgroundThe disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) summarize the burden of years of life lost (YLL) due to premature mortality and years lost due to disability (YLD). Our aim was to estimate the burden of ischemic heart disease (IHD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Finland in 2012, and to examine, how much the YLD are affected by the use of different data sources.MethodsThe YLL were calculated using mortality data for the Finnish 25-74-year-old population in 2012. The YLD were calculated using data from the FINRISK 2012 survey (3041 males, 3383 females aged 25-74 years) and then directly adjusted to the corresponding population. Different administrative registers on 1) hospital inpatient episodes and specialist outpatient visits, 2) entitlement to specially reimbursed medicines, and 3) purchases of prescribed medicines were used for estimation of the YLD in addition to self-reported data. The DALYs were calculated without age-weighting.ResultsThe YLL for IHD were 37.5 for males and 9.1 for females per 1000 population among 25-74-year-old people in Finland in 2012. The YLD for IHD varied markedly depending on which data sources were used. All data sources combined, the YLD per 1000 were 5.3 for males and 2.5 for females resulting in estimated 42.8 and 11.6 DALYs per 1000 due to IHD among males and females, respectively. For COPD, the YLL were 4.7 for males and 2.0 for females per 1000. Also for COPD, the YLD varied markedly depending on data sources used. The YLD per 1000 based on all data sources combined were 2.0 for males and 1.6 for females. As a result, estimated 6.7 and 3.6 DALYs per 1000 were due to COPD among males and females, respectively.ConclusionsEspecially for COPD, all mild disease cases could probably not be identified from the included registers. Thereby, including survey data improved the coverage of the data. The YLD of IHD and COPD varied markedly between the data sources used in the calculations. However, as YLL constituted a major part of DALYs for these diseases, the variation in YLD did not lead to substantial variation in DALYs.

Project description:BackgroundCOVID-19 has caused almost unprecedented change across health, education, the economy and social interaction. It is widely understood that the existing mechanisms which shape health inequalities have resulted in COVID-19 outcomes following this same, familiar, pattern. Our aim was to estimate inequalities in the population health impact of COVID-19 in Scotland, measured by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2020. Our secondary aim was to scale overall, and inequalities in, COVID-19 DALYs against the level of pre-pandemic inequalities in all-cause DALYs, derived from the Scottish Burden of Disease (SBoD) study.MethodsNational deaths and daily case data were input into the European Burden of Disease Network consensus model to estimate DALYs. Total Years of Life Lost (YLL) were estimated for each area-based deprivation quintile of the Scottish population. Years Lived with Disability were proportionately distributed to deprivation quintiles, based on YLL estimates. Inequalities were measured by: the range, Relative Index of Inequality (RII), Slope Index of Inequality (SII), and attributable DALYs were estimated by using the least deprived quintile as a reference.ResultsMarked inequalities were observed across several measures. The SII range was 2048 to 2289 COVID-19 DALYs per 100,000 population. The rate in the most deprived areas was around 58% higher than the mean population rate (RII = 1.16), with 40% of COVID-19 DALYs attributed to differences in area-based deprivation. Overall DALYs due to COVID-19 ranged from 7 to 20% of the annual pre-pandemic impact of inequalities in health loss combined across all causes.ConclusionThe substantial population health impact of COVID-19 in Scotland was not shared equally across areas experiencing different levels of deprivation. The extent of inequality due to COVID-19 was similar to averting all annual DALYs due to diabetes. In the wider context of population health loss, overall ill-health and mortality due to COVID-19 was, at most, a fifth of the annual population health loss due to inequalities in multiple deprivation. Implementing effective policy interventions to reduce health inequalities must be at the forefront of plans to recover and improve population health.

Project description:Background:Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) are an established method for quantifying population health needs and guiding prioritisation decisions. Global Burden of Disease (GBD) estimates aim to ensure comparability between countries and over time by using age-standardised rates (ASR) to account for differences in the age structure of different populations. Different standard populations are used for this purpose but it is not widely appreciated that the choice of standard may affect not only the resulting rates but also the rankings of causes of DALYs. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the choice of standard, using the example of Scotland. Methods:DALY estimates were derived from the 2016 Scottish Burden of Disease (SBoD) study for an abridged list of 68 causes of disease/injury, representing a three-year annual average across 2014-16. Crude DALY rates were calculated using Scottish national population estimates. DALY ASRs standardised using the GBD World Standard Population (GBD WSP) were compared to those using the 2013 European Standard Population (ESP2013). Differences in ASR and in rank order within the cause list were summarised for all-cause and for each individual cause. Results:The ranking of causes by DALYs were similar using crude rates or ASR (ESP2013). All-cause DALY rates using ASR (GBD WSP) were around 26% lower. Overall 58 out of 68 causes had a lower ASR using GBD WSP compared with ESP2013, with the largest falls occurring for leading causes of mortality observed in older ages. Gains in ASR were much smaller in absolute scale and largely affected causes that operated early in life. These differences were associated with a substantial change to the ranking of causes when GBD WSP was used compared with ESP2013. Conclusion:Disease rankings based on DALY ASRs are strongly influenced by the choice of standard population. While GBD WSP offers international comparability, within-country analyses based on DALY ASRs should reflect local age structures. For European countries, including Scotland, ESP2013 may better guide local priority setting by avoiding large disparities occurring between crude and age-standardised results sets, which could potentially confuse non-technical audiences.

Project description:ObjectivesFrom the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, clinical practice and research globally have centred on the prevention of transmission and treatment of the disease. The pandemic has had a huge impact on the economy and stressed healthcare systems worldwide. The present study estimates disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), years of potential productive life lost (YPPLL) and cost of productivity lost (CPL) due to premature mortality and absenteeism secondary to COVID-19 in the state of Kerala, India.SettingDetails on sociodemographics, incidence, death, quarantine, recovery time, etc were derived from public sources and the Collective for Open Data Distribution-Keralam. The working proportion for 5-year age-gender cohorts and the corresponding life expectancy were obtained from the 2011 Census of India.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe impact of the disease was computed through model-based analysis on various age-gender cohorts. Sensitivity analysis was conducted by adjusting six variables across 21 scenarios. We present two estimates, one until 15 November 2020 and later updated to 10 June 2021.ResultsSeverity of infection and mortality were higher among the older cohorts, with men being more susceptible than women in most subgroups. DALYs for males and females were 15 954.5 and 8638.4 until 15 November 2020, and 83 853.0 and 56 628.3 until 10 June 2021. The corresponding YPPLL were 1323.57 and 612.31 until 15 November 2020, and 6993.04 and 3811.57 until 10 June 2021, and the CPL (premature mortality) were 263 780 579.94 and 41 836 001.82 until 15 November 2020, and 1 419 557 903.76 and 278 275 495.29 until 10 June 2021.ConclusionsMost of the COVID-19 burden was contributed by years of life lost. Losses due to YPPLL were reduced as the impact of COVID-19 infection was lesser among the productive cohorts. The CPL values for individuals aged 40-49 years old were the highest. These estimates provide the data necessary for policymakers to work on reducing the economic burden of COVID-19 in Kerala.

Dataset Information

Development of methodology for disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) calculation based on real-life data.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Development of methodology for disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) calculation based on real-life data.

Similar Datasets

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