Disease burden: A detailed analysis by modifiable risk factor

Introduction A breakdown of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) into specific diseases, age groups and genders allows an estimation of the level of disease burden that can be attributed to modifiable risk factors. This is important as this proportion of the total disease burden is avoidable and demonstrates the potential gain in health through public health interventions that aim to reduce risk factor prevalence. It is of course important to recognise that current methods limit this study to ten major risk factors. The impact of other risk factors such as dietary and psychosocial that are currently unable to be quantified in totality should not be underestimated when interpreting this information.