Comparisons over time

Changes in burden over time from specific diseases or injuries may be due to changes in population size, population ageing, changes in disease prevalence (including epidemics) or changes to how causes are reported or coded in health data.

For fatal burden (YLL) estimates, notable changes in cause of death coding practices occurred over time for dementia and accidental poisoning. For non-fatal burden (YLD) estimates, morbidity data were drawn from a wide variety of sources, with varying availability and data quality over time. Of note, changes in testing practices and diagnostic criteria occurred over time for gestational diabetes. Therefore, comparisons over time for some causes need to be interpreted with caution. 

Use the interactive graphs to explore differences in age-standardised and age-specific rates of burden (DALY, YLD or YLL) in Australia. Estimates are displayed by sex and for disease groups or by specific disease or injury for the most recent year (2023) and for years 2003, 2011, 2015 and 2018 for comparison. Estimates for COVID‑19 as an individual cause are not presented as these were only available for 2023 (though it is included in the total ‘Infectious diseases’ estimates).

Figure 3.3: Comparisons of disease burden in Australia over time

This interactive visualisation compares disease burden in Australia over time for each data year (2003, 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2023), by type of burden, sex, disease group and disease.