Question

The text presented data in Exhibit 10.2 related to the leading causes of death worldwide in 1990 and predictions for leading causes of death in 2020. The predictions are based on the concept of burden of disease. Based on current data, discuss whether or not you believe that the DALYs were good predictors of disease.

Answer 1

DALY means Disability-adjusted life year as it compares the health and life expectancy overall of many different countries. It accounts for the number of years that are lost due to illness, any disability or early death.

This study of using a measure in recent years to quantify the burden of diseases, injuries and risk factors. This study is a good predator of diseases and also is widely used, commonly in the field of public health and health impact assessment (HIA).The DALY study depends upon the acceptance that the most appropriate measure of the effects of chronic illness is time, both time lost due to premature death and time spent disabled by disease. Therefore, one DALY is equal to one year of healthy life lost.

Daly is reliable as it involves age-weighting function considering age of a particular person at a time that what can be the economic production he/she can do at that time showing the quality of life and thus, determining the disability weights, that ranges from 0 to 1 (no disability to 100% disabled) for all diseases.

Such studies showed that Mental illness is one of the leading disorders connected mainly with depression conditions.