Quantifying burden of disease to measure population health in Korea

Quantitative assessments of the health status of a population are essential to make decisions and set priorities in the field of public health. Changing epidemiologic patterns increase the demand for comprehensive estimates of population health across the full health spectrum, including non-communicable diseases and injuries. Burden of disease (BoD) analysis has helped meet this need. With the success of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study, the BoD technique has become predominantly associated with the GBD approach and its methodology using disability-adjusted life year (DALY) has been rapidly disseminated and generally accepted over the last several years. The first Korean BoD study using the DALY metric was presented in 2002. Various BoD studies have since been conducted, but the DALY concept has remained primarily academic and has not yet been actively utilized in the health policy arena. Here, we review the DALY metric and population-based Korean BoD studies using national health data, with the intent of increasing the understanding of their value and their potential role in strengthening future assessments of the Korean population's health status.