The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study measures disease burden using DALYs. A DALY represents:
- A The number of deaths per year per 1000 population
- B The average number of disease episodes per person per year
- C One year of healthy life lost due to premature death or disability ✓
- D Quality-adjusted life years gained through a health intervention
Correct answer: C. One year of healthy life lost due to premature death or disability
Explanation
DALY (Disability-Adjusted Life Year) = YLL (Years of Life Lost due to premature death) + YLD (Years Lived with Disability). One DALY represents one year of 'healthy life' lost, combining mortality and morbidity into a single metric. QALY (Quality-Adjusted Life Year) measures health gain, while DALY measures health loss — they are reciprocal concepts used in burden of disease and health economic analyses respectively.
Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.
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