Overview

The Australian Burden of Disease Study provides estimates for over 200 diseases and injuries in Australia for 2023, 2018, 2015, 2011 and 2003. Burden of disease measures the impact of living with illness and injury and dying prematurely. The summary measure ‘disability-adjusted life years’ (or DALY) measures the years of healthy life lost from death and illness.

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Latest findings

In 2023, cancers as a group caused the most burden (17%), followed by mental health & substance use disorders (15%)

The age-standardised rate of total disease burden decreased by 11% between 2003 and 2023

Indigenous Australians lost almost 240,000 years of healthy life due to illness and injury in 2018

The rate of burden in Indigenous Australians decreased by 15% between 2003 and 2018

38% of disease burden in Australia in 2018 is preventable and due to the modifiable risk factors included in this study

Overweight (including obesity) was the leading contributor to non-fatal burden in 2018