Atlases of burden of disease

The burden of disease in a population can be expressed in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). In this concept, 1 DALY can be thought of as 1 lost year of healthy life. DALYs are calculated as the sum of years of life lost (YLL) to premature mortality and the years lost to disability (YLD).

Using the data from “The WHO global burden of disease: 2004 update”, the atlases of burden of disease display and compare DALYs lost to a broad range of causes. Users can choose between broad cause compositions and detailed subgroups of conditions and individual causes/diseases.

Burden of diseases in the WHO European Region e-atlas (age-standardized DALYs)

Age standardization improves comparability over time and between countries. The atlas parallels the burden-of-disease atlas giving DALY rates per 100 000 population, but here the DALYs are calculated as weighted averages (using WHO standard world population) to adjust to a standard age distribution.