In the early 1990s the indicator disability-adjusted life years (DALY) was developed in response to a need for data used in health decision-making on an international scale. Since then, a number of countries have used this indicator to produce territorial estimates.
This indicator is of interest insofar as it considers both mortality and loss of functional health. It also allows for comparison of estimates produced for various health conditions and to rank their impacts on the health of a population under study. The impacts of disease on mortality are measured using years of life lost (YLL) and loss of functional health is estimated using years lost due to disability (YLD). DALYs are calculated as the sum of YLL and YLD.
The objectives of this report are to:
introduce the indicator disability-adjusted life years and its components;
describe the estimation methods used and the main methodological limitations; and
present the first Québec estimates of DALYs…