Burden of Disease

A central research focus of AG 2 is the examination and application of methods for the quantification of disease loads, the so-called "Burden of Disease" studies. In addition to the critical analysis of the available burden of disease methods, which have been developed especially for the "Global Burden of Disease" studies, the AG 2 carries out its own calculations of the disease burden for different subject areas and regions using secondary data and various measures.

These data are used to identify trends in the health status of populations and to make projections. These developments are associated with the distribution of risk factors and protective factors in the population. Mathematical and epidemiological models are used to test the effectiveness of specific intervention scenarios to reduce the burden of disease. Researchers in the AG 2 are collaborators in various studies of the Global Burden of Disease Study.

In the past, megacities have carried out projects to estimate the burden of disease in China and Bangladesh. More sophisticated global estimates based on advanced burden of disease methods have also been carried out for infectious diseases in Europe. In another EU project (SIDARTHa), the AG 2 was concerned with the development of a system for syndromic surveillance (funded by DG SANCO). This project, which involved numerous European partners, aimed at establishing a surveillance system for syndromes based on routine emergency data in order to detect health risks prior to the actual diagnosis.