Murray, Christopher J.L. and Alan D. Lopez
“Evidence-based Health Policy - Lessons from the Global Burden of Disease Study”
 

• Provision of health statistics to policy makers is not done in a regular, logical manner by scientists. Instead it’s usually done by advocates with an agenda, and policy may not cover the most pressing health issues.
• The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) seeks to change this, providing data for worldwide causes of mortality and morbidity, and estimates for future rates.
• GBD developed a measure called DALY: disability adjusted life year. For each health problem, this is the sum of years lost to it from mortality and disability.
• In developing countries, communicable disease causes 4 in 10 deaths, compared to 1 in 16 in developed world, where noncommunicable disease casues the vast majority of deaths.
• Page 741 lists the major leading causes of DALYs.  The list interestingly includes emotional illness.  The authors also trace what will cause more DALYs in future (heart disease, depression, strokes, HIV, war, violence, suicide, lung cancer) and which will cause fewer (respiratory infection, diarrheal disease, measles, malaria, anemia, malnutrition).
• Prevention of occupation-, tobacco-, and alcohol-related death should be major priority, as well as HIV.  Diarrheal disease is on the wane.