Week 9 - The Burden of Disease

Question 1

What are Quality Adjusted Life Years?

Answer 1

QALYs are the number of fully healthy life years that are lost to a particular disease.

Question 2

What is the definition of Morbidity?

Answer 2

Morbidity is the incidence of ill health within a population.

Question 3

How are Disability-adjusted life years calculated?

Answer 3

DALY = YLL + YLD

Disability-adjusted life years = Years of Lost Life + Years Lost to Disability

Question 4

What are DALYs?

Answer 4

DALY is the internationally accepted measure of death and disability.

Question 5

What is 1 DALY equivalent to?

Answer 5

One DALY is equivalent to one lost year of healthy life.

Question 6

Describe YLL

Answer 6

YLL = Years of Lost Life

It is the years lost due to premature mortality

Question 7

Describe YLD

Answer 7

YLD = Years Lost to Disability

It is the years of life lost due to injury or illness.

Question 8

What assumption is DALY based on?

Answer 8

DALY or Disability-adjusted Life Years are calculated based on the assumption that everyone has a right to the best life expectancy in the world.

Question 9

What is the purpose of calculating DALYs?

Answer 9

DALYs attempts to provide appropriate attention to the effects of fatal and non-fatal diseases on health.

In its absence, conditions that cause morbidity but no mortality would be overlooked.

Question 10

What are Neglected Tropical Diseases?

Answer 10

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of 17 parasitic and other infectious diseases which are endemic in low-income populations in developing regions.

Question 11

What does NTDs stand for?

Answer 11

Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Question 12

How many people are affected by NTDs?

Answer 12

Around 1.4 billion people are affected by Neglected tropical diseases, approx 20% of the World’s population.

Question 13

How many people die annually due to NTDs?

Answer 13

1.5 million people die annually due to NTDs.

Question 14

How many DALYs are lost to NTDs each year?

Answer 14

110 million DALYs are lost each year due to NTD.

Question 15

Why are NTDs not highly visible?

Answer 15

NTDs do not kill large numbers of rich people so lack exposure. They do not travel internationally so do not affect wealthy nations.

Question 16

Why are NTDs neglected?

Answer 16

There is little financial incentive for R&D for new drugs and vaccine as they affect poor communities that cannot pay.

They do not affect wealthy individuals or nations.

They do not cause explosive outbreaks that attract media and public attention.

The afflicted are reluctant to seek care due to the stigma of these debilitation and deforming diseases.

Question 17

Name some of the Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Answer 17

Ascariasis
African trypanosomiasis 
Chagas’ disease Cysticercosis/Taeniasis 
Dracunculiasis Echinococcosis
Food-borne trematode infection 
Hookworm disease 
Leishmaniasis 
Lymphatic filariasis 
Onchocerciasis 
Schistosomiasis 
Whipworm disease