Fatal vs. non-fatal burden

Burden of disease estimates are one of the few population health measures which combine health loss from living with, and dying prematurely from illness and injury.

The contribution of fatal and non-fatal burden to the total burden experienced in Australia differs by age, sex and disease. Some disease groups, such as cancers, contribute substantial fatal burden, whilst diseases which don’t usually cause death, such as back pain, contribute substantial non-fatal burden.

Use the interactive graphs to explore the contribution of fatal burden (YLL) and non-fatal burden (YLD) to the total burden of disease (DALY) in Australia by sex, age group and disease or injury for the most recent year (2022). Results for 2003, 2011, 2015 and 2018 are included for comparison.

For the first time the Study includes estimates of disease burden due to COVID-19, using data available at the time of analysis. This included data on deaths, cases and hospitalisations up until August 2022. Given the dynamic and ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, these estimates may be revised in the future as more data become available. For a discussion of results related to fatal and non-fatal burden, refer to the Summary.

This interactive data visualisation compares the amount and proportion of burden that is fatal vs. non-fatal. There are 2 sections which can be customised to report data according to year, sex, disease group and disease. The first section is a single horizontal bar which is shaded to show the proportion of total burden which is non-fatal and fatal for the selected year, sex, disease group and disease. The second section has two horizontal stacked bar charts side by side; the left bar chart represents non-fatal burden and the right bar chart represents fatal burden. Each bar shows the amount of fatal or non-fatal burden by 5-year age groups for the selected year, sex, disease group and disease.

Previous page
Next page