RESUMEN
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are lifelong neurodevelopmental disabilities. Burden of Disease is an indicator that provides important information on health status and outcomes such as premature mortality and disability. In order to estimate the burden of disease of ASD in the Spanish population during 2003, we followed the procedures used in the WHO Global Burden of Disease Study. ASD generated 43,928 Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) in Spain in 2003, from which 33,797 were attributable to Autistic Disorder and 10,131 were caused by Asperger's Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified. DALY could be a useful tool for health policy makers for setting health service priorities, allocating available resources effectively and providing a comparable measure of output for early intervention.
Asunto(s)
Síndrome de Asperger/epidemiología , Trastorno Autístico/epidemiología , Trastornos Generalizados del Desarrollo Infantil/epidemiología , Adolescente , Síndrome de Asperger/diagnóstico , Síndrome de Asperger/mortalidad , Síndrome de Asperger/psicología , Trastorno Autístico/diagnóstico , Trastorno Autístico/mortalidad , Trastorno Autístico/psicología , Niño , Trastornos Generalizados del Desarrollo Infantil/diagnóstico , Trastornos Generalizados del Desarrollo Infantil/mortalidad , Trastornos Generalizados del Desarrollo Infantil/psicología , Preescolar , Estudios Transversales , Evaluación de la Discapacidad , Diagnóstico Precoz , Femenino , Política de Salud , Necesidades y Demandas de Servicios de Salud , Investigación sobre Servicios de Salud , Humanos , Lactante , Masculino , Asignación de Recursos , EspañaRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Scleroderma (systemic sclerosis) is a rare disease that results in great suffering. We estimated the burden of disease posed by scleroderma and its relative importance in the health of the Spanish population. METHODS: We estimated scleroderma-based burden of disease following procedures developed for the Global Burden of Disease study to ensure comparability. RESULTS: Despite its low prevalence, scleroderma generated 1732 disability-adjusted life-years (DALY) in Spain in 2001, comprising 562 (32%) years of life lost and 1170 (68%) years lived with disability. Most scleroderma-related DALY (73%) occurred in the population aged 15-54 years. Estimated DALY accounted for 0.59% of other musculoskeletal disorder-related DALY in the European A subregion (countries with low mortality rate in both adults and children in the World Health Organization classification), a significant value in the overall burden of disease. CONCLUSION: The burden of scleroderma in Spain was high, with disability being the major contributing factor. Burden of disease is an important measure in rare diseases, and may be an important indicator to be considered as a health unit in developed countries.