title: Burden of disease assessment with summary measures of population health for the Region of Valencia, Spain: a population-based study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  An important input to decision-making and health planning is a consistent and comparative description of the population health status. The purpose of this study was to describe the burden of disease in the Region of Valencia (Spain).
  
  
  METHODS
  Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were calculated and divided into years of life lost (YLLs) and years lived with disability (YLDs). Using death registry data and Valencian population estimates in 2008, we calculated the number of deaths and YLLs. YLDs were based on age- and sex-specific data for countries of the EURO-A subregional level (which includes the Region of Valencia) from the Global Burden of Disease study. The results were stratified by age group, sex and underlying cause of death. The DALY values were used to rank the leading conditions of disease burden.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 2008, the total number of DALYs lost was about 551 thousands (53% in men). The main categories of DALYs lost were neuropsychiatric conditions (30%; 167 thousands), malignant tumors (15%; 85 thousands), cardiovascular diseases (13%; 72 thousands) and sense organ diseases (8%; 46 thousands). Depression (8% of DALYs; 47 thousands), dementias (8%; 42 thousands), ischaemic heart disease (5%; 27 thousands), hearing loss (4%; 22 thousands), stroke (4%; 20 thousands) and lung cancer (3%; 19 thousands) were the leading specific causes of disease burden.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We provide for the first time ever information on the burden of disease in the Valencian population. At this local level, the use of DALYs can help to monitor the population health status and guide the debates on rational priority-setting.
authors.affiliation: Centro Superior de Investigación en Salud Pública, Valencia, Spain. ferran_catala@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Ferrán
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Catalá-López
authors.forename: Ricard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gènova-Maleras
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ridao
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Álvarez
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sanfélix-Gimeno
authors.forename: Consuelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morant
authors.forename: Salvador
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peiró
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult