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Disability adjusted life years

Disability adjusted life years

Data table

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Note

The measure of burden of disease is DALY = disability adjusted life years.

Source

Begg S, Vos T, Barker B. et al. The burden of disease and injury in Australia, 2003. Canberra: AIHW, 2007. Centre for Epidemiology and Research, NSW Department of Health.

Commentary

The disability adjusted life year (DALY) is a measure of the burden of disease. It combines years of life lost due to premature death and years lived with a disability. One DALY is equivalent to one year of healthy life lost. This measure allows comparison of burden of disease between populations and allows comparison of the contributions of individual conditions to the total burden of disease.

In 2003, Aboriginal people made up 2.4% of the total Australian population but carried 3.6% of the total Australian burden of disease, despite having a younger population structure.

Cardiovascular disease and mental disorders accounted for most of the Aboriginal burden of disease. The leading cause of burden of disease in the total Australian population was cancers, which accounted for 19% of DALYs in the total population, but only 8% in the Aboriginal population.

Cardiovascular disease and cancer made up a larger proportion of the burden of disease in the total population than in the Aboriginal population. All other disease categories (most notably diabetes and injury) accounted for a greater proportion of the burden in the Aboriginal population.

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For more information

Vos T, Barker B, Stanley L, Lopez A. The burden of disease and injury in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples 2003. Brisbane: University of Queensland, 2007.

NSW Department of Health. NSW Aboriginal Mental Health and Well Being Policy 2006-2010. Sydney: NSW Department of Health, 2007. Available at www.health.nsw.gov.au/policies/pd/2007/PD2007_059.html

Begg S, Vos T, Barker B. et al. The burden of disease and injury in Australia, 2003. PHE 82. Canberra: AIHW, 2007. Available at www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10317

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Copyright notice

This work is copyright NSW Department of Health, 2006. It may be reproduced in whole or in part, subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source. Commercial usage or sale is prohibited.

Suggested citation

Population Health Division. The health of the people of New South Wales - Report of the Chief Health Officer. Sydney: NSW Department of Health. Available at: www.health.nsw.gov.au/publichealth/chorep/. Accessed (insert date of access).

Produced by

Centre for Epidemiology and Research, Population Health Division, NSW Department of Health.

Last updated on 15 December 2008