Ministry of Health releases report into health loss in NZ

Media release

08 August 2013

The Ministry of Health has today published “Health Loss in New Zealand”, a systematic assessment of the health loss experienced by the population.

The study draws on data from 2006 to estimate how much healthy life is lost from a comprehensive set of diseases, injuries and risk factors.

It combines both the loss of health from premature death (fatal outcomes) and the loss of health from illness and impairment (non-fatal outcomes).

The Chief Medical Officer, Dr Don Mackie, says coronary heart disease remains the leading cause of health loss at disease level. However, mental disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, sleep disorders and chronic pain syndromes are also major causes of health loss, although responsible for few deaths.

“New Zealanders are living longer, yet this study shows that not all of those extra years are being lived in good health.

“As the population ages, it will become increasingly important to add ‘life to years’ as well as ‘years to life’,” Dr Mackie says.

The Ministry has also worked with the Accident Compensation Corporation on a more detailed report from this study on injury-related health loss.

NZBD reports

The NZBD includes the following three reports and a statistical annexe (other reports will follow later):

• Health Loss in New Zealand: A report from the New Zealand Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study 2006–2016 summarises the key findings, objectives and methods of the NZBD and discusses implications for policy and monitoring

• Injury-related Health Loss: A report from the New Zealand Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study is published jointly by the Ministry and the Accident Compensation Corporation. This report provides more detailed methods and results for intentional and unintentional injuries

• Ways and Means: A report on methodology from the New Zealand Burden of Disease, Injury and Risk Study, 2006 - 2016 provides more detail about the data sources and statistical and epidemiological methods used in the NZBD

• New Zealand Burden of Diseases Statistical Annexe is a series of excel pivot tables, providing the full results from the study. This includes estimates and projections of fatal, non-fatal and integrated health losses by age, sex and ethnicity for all disease, injury and risk factor causes, and estimates and projections of health expectancy. Both point estimates and standard errors are provided

ENDS

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