Estimation of Disability-Adjusted Life Years among Patients Presenting with End-Stage Liver Disease
Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Introduction: Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) is a multidimensional metric utilized to quantify specific disease burdens. It has the potential to highlight both fatal and non-fatal outcomes of disease and thus help in policymaking and health resource allocation. Chronic liver disease, secondary to preventable causes, is one of the main contributors to morbidity and mortality. It demands the attention of researchers and policymakers alike. The primary aim of this study was to quantify the disease burden due to end-stage liver disease in terms of years of life lost (YLL), years lost to disability (YLD), and DALYs. Materials and methods: This was a descriptive case-series study conducted over a period of six months between September 2019 and February 2020 at a tertiary care hospital in Lahore, Pakistan. All patients presenting with end-stage liver disease were interviewed. The YLL were predicted by using the Child-Pugh score’s estimation of years of life left. Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ) was used to assess the disabilities of the patients along with disability weights from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study to calculate the YLD. All statistical analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. Results: 18 patients who presented with end-stage liver disease had 32.8 (95% CI: 25.2-40.5) mean DALYs. The mean age of presentation was 51.1 (95%CI: 42.7-59.4) years. A significant negative correlation was found between age and DALYs (r=-0.94, p<0.001). The mean YLL was 31.5 (95%CI: 23.5-39.5) and the mean YLD was 1.34 (95%CI: 0.58-2.11). Most patients presented with decompensated chronic liver disease (DCLD) during the fifth and sixth decade of life. No significant correlation was found between gender and DALYs (r = 0.208, p=0.407).The most common adjusted disabilities were muscle cramps, fatigue, difficulty sleeping at night, hematemesis, jaundice, fluid in the abdomen, and abdominal pain. Conclusions: In accordance with the findings of this study, 18 patients with end-stage liver disease lost an estimated 591.22 DALYs which represents approximately 39.1% of the normal life span, if these patients were a member of a standardized model population with a life expectancy at birth equal to that of the world’s longest-surviving population i.e. Japan. YLL contributes 96% of the total DALYs which indicates that the ability of the end-stage liver disease to cause mortality is much more significant than its ability to cause morbidity. Our research also indicates that out of 100 patients with end-stage liver disease, 39 lifetimes are lost.
DOI: 10.26502/aimr.0052
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W3134083013