On burden of diseases, prevention, medical research and health service delivery: Grampian case study
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Abstract
Burden of diseases measured as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per 100,000 people can be mined from public domain data, when they are made available by population health surveillance systems. This can be analysed to allow insightful comparisons with the national average, and to understand differences in trends between the sexes, age groups, time periods, geographic regions, and sub-regions. In this illustrative case study, we have analysed the Scottish burden of disease database to understand what ailed the population of the Grampian region before the COVID-19 pandemic. We have identified that selected cancers, ischaemic heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are amongst the highest contributors to the burden; that drug use disorders and colorectal cancer are showing worsening trends and require health promotion and disease prevention measures from ages 15 and 25, respectively, especially in Aberdeen City; and that males are more vulnerable to atrial fibrillation and flutter, diabetes mellitus, oesophageal cancer, and self-harm, while females are more vulnerable to cerebrovascular and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. We demonstrate the usefulness of our analysis and methodology for the wider health system, allowing targeted medical research investments and coordinated response from public health and health service delivery. We also show the need for up-to-date surveillance data, forecasts, and evidence on the impact of interventions to be made available widely.
Keywords
burden of disease, compound annual growth rate (CAGR), disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), disease prevention, epidemiology, health policy, health service, health surveillance, medical research, public health
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
2026
Volume
23
Issue
6
Publication Title
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Publisher
MDPI
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
First Page
1
Last Page
12
Included in
Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Epidemiology Commons, Health Services Research Commons
Comments
Vasan, S. S., Anand, S., Lee, M., & Fluck, N. C. (2026). On burden of diseases, prevention, medical research and health service delivery: Grampian case study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 23(6), Article 763. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23060763