The World Health Organization (WHO) global burden of disease (GBD) measures burden of disease using the disability-adjusted-life-year (DALY). This time-based measure combines years of life lost due to premature mortality and years of life lost due to time lived in states of less than full health. The DALY metric was developed in the original GBD 1990 study to assess the burden of disease consistently across diseases, risk factors and regions.

Several web sites offer articles from the most recent GBD report. These include:

The Lancet, Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2013 http://www.thelancet.com/global-burden-of-disease Accessed December 23, 2014.

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Global Burden of Disease (GBD) http://www.healthdata.org/gbd Accessed December 23, 2014.

Specifically addressing GDB in the United States:

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, The state of US health, 1990-2010: burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. http://www.healthdata.org/research-article/state-us-health-1990-2010-burden-diseases-injuries-and-risk-factors Accessed December 23, 2014.