BURDEN OF DISEASE IN THE ELDERLY, MEXICO 1994

Objective. To estimate the disability adjusted life years lost (DALYs) in population over 60 years of age in Mexico during 1994. Material an d methods. Years of life lost due to premature mortality (YLL) and yea rs lived with disability (YLD) were estimated for 108 diseases, bath s exes, and 32 states of the Mexican Republic divided in rural and urban areas in the population over 60 years of age, using the methodology o riginally proposed by Murray and Lopez adapted to specific local chara cteristics. The inputs used were: mortality statistics for 1994 (after corrections of under-registration and missclassification), statistics on incidence and prevalence from local epidemiological studies, natio nal health surveys and estimates by the authors. Results. During 1994 the Mexican population over 60 years of age lost 1.8 million DALYs, 59 % of which were YLL while 41% were YLD. Most of the burden of disease is due to noncommunicable diseases. The principal health needs of the elderly in Mexico can be divided in two groups: a) those that traditio nally are frequent in this age group, such as ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, stroke and b) disabling diseases such as dementia, falls an d arthritis as the most important. Conclusions. The use of composite i ndicators such as DALYs to assess health needs in older adult call hel p decision-makers and planners to incorporate disabling and lethal dis eases within the list of priority needs, thereby achieving greater equ ity in the assignment of resources to different health care, preventio n and rehabilitation programs.