Disease burden

Disease burden is the impact of a health problem in an area measured by financial cost, mortality, morbidity, or other indicators. It is often quantified in terms of Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) or Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), which combine the burden due to both death and morbidity into one index. This allows for the comparison of the disease burden due to various risk factors or diseases. It also makes it possible to predict the possible impact of health interventions.

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The World Health Organization provides a detailed explanation of how disease burden is measured at national or local levels for various environmental issues.