[Impact of morbidity on the health of the Basque Country population 2002-2007: a comprehensive approach through health expectancies].
BACKGROUND
The estimation of the impact of morbidity on health is essential to health planning. The objective was to estimate this impact using disability free life expectancy, and to analyze whether the hypothetical elimination of various diseases would have led to a compression or expansion of morbidity.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study on the population of the Basque Country. Data on mortality (2002-2006), health survey data (2007) and population based data were used. The impact of different groups of diseases on mortality rates, years of life and potential years of life lost (PYLL) and disability (absolute number and rates) were calculated. An integrated analysis was also done, using disability free life expectancy (DFLE), using the Sullivan method.


RESULTS
The diseases causing the greatest impact on mortality were tumours among men (35,2% and 39,3% of deaths and PYLL respectively), and circulatory diseases (34,5% of deaths) and tumours (43,6% of PYLL) among women. Osteomuscular diseases had a major impact on disability, causing the 26,6% and the 45,2% of the total cases in men and women). Circulatory diseases had the highest impact as a whole (4.2 years of DFLE in men and 3.8 in women). However, osteomuscular diseases had the highest influence on years of life with disability.


CONCLUSIONS
The diseases which caused the overall greatest impact on mortality and disability were circulatory system related ones, tumors, and osteomuscular diseases. The elimination of this last group of diseases would have led to a morbidity compression, meaning the greatest reduction in life years with disability among all the causes.
Departamento de Sociología 2, Universidad del País Vasco-Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Leioa-Bizcaia, País Vasco, España.
Unai
U
Martín
Santiago
S
Esnaola
Covadonga
C
Audicana
Amaia
A
Bacigalupe
D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D015993:Life Tables; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000401:mortality; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology