The burden of disease quantifies mortality and morbidity due to a given disease or risk factor. The most commonly used measure is the Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY), which combines the years of life lost due to disability with the years of life lost due to death. This measure allows to compare diseases or risk factors in terms of their public health importance. The World Health Organization has been investigating the contribution of a range of risk factors, such as malnutrition, smoking and lack of access to water and sanitation, to the burden of disease. Assessing the burden of disease from.
