The global burden of disease: 2004 update

World Health Organization WHO – October 2008

A response to the need for comprehensive, consistent and comparable information on diseases and injuries at global and regional level.

Website: http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/2004_report_update/en/index.html

Full text PDF [160p.] at: http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GBD_report_2004update_full.pdf

The global burden of disease: 2004 update is a comprehensive assessment of the health of the world's population. It provides detailed global and regional estimates of premature mortality, disability and loss of health for 135 causes by age and sex, drawing on extensive WHO databases and on information provided by Member States.

The  study provides a comprehensive picture of the global and regional state of health. Drawing from extensive data across the Organization, it features comparisons between deaths, diseases and injuries by region, age, sex and country income for the year 2004. It also provides projections of deaths and burden of disease by cause and region to the year 2030.

The study contains details of the top 10 causes of death and estimates for over 130 disease and injury causes. Striking findings include:

·         Worldwide, Africa accounts for nine out of every 10 child deaths due to malaria, for nine out of every 10 child deaths due to AIDS, and for half of the world's child deaths due to diarrhoeal disease and pneumonia.

·         The top five causes of death in low-income countries are: pneumonia, followed by heart disease, diarrhoea, HIV/AIDS and stroke. In high-income countries, the list is topped by heart disease and followed by stroke, lung cancer, pneumonia, and asthma/bronchitis.

·         Men between the ages of 15 and 60 years have much higher risks of dying than women in the same age category in every region of the world. This, is mainly due to injuries, including those caused in violence and conflict, and to higher levels of heart diseases. This difference is most pronounced in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and the eastern European regions.

·         Depression is the leading cause of years lost due to disability, the burden being 50% higher for females than males. In both low- and middle-income countries, and high-income countries, alcohol dependence and problem use are among the 10 leading causes of disability.

The production and dissemination of health information for action is one of WHO's core mandated activities. This study provides Member States with an important input for health decision making, planning and priority setting.

The study contains information on:

·         causes of death in different parts of the world

·         the leading causes of death by age, sex and disease

·         the numbers of people with various diseases and disabilities

·         how many people become ill each year

·         the causes of loss of health and the actual loss of years of good health: these are measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). One DALY is equivalent to the loss of one year of full health.

NOTE FOR THE MEDIA

Arabic | Chinese | English | French | Russian | Spanish

OTHER MATERIALS ON THE REPORT

10 facts on the GBD | Top 10 causes of death fact sheet | Key figures and graphs [ppt 1.74Mb]

THE REPORT IN SECTIONS

:: Part 1: Introduction [pdf 577kb] 
:: Part 2: Causes of death [pdf 635kb] 
:: Part 3: Disease incidence, prevalence and disability [pdf 247kb] 
:: Part 4: Burden of disease: DALYs [pdf 395kb] 
:: Annex A: Deaths and DALYs 2004 Annex tables [pdf 581kb] 
:: Annex B: Data sources and methods [pdf 300kb] 
:: Annex C: Analysis categories and mortality data sources [pdf 224kb] 
:: References [pdf 144kb]

STATISTICS FROM THE REPORT

:: Regional estimates of YLL, YLD, and DALYs, deaths, incidence and prevalence for 2004 
:: Regional projections of deaths and DALYs for 2008, 2015, and 2030