Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jun 1;35(21):e199.
doi: 10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e199.

The Burden of Disease due to COVID-19 in Korea Using Disability-Adjusted Life Years

Min Woo Jo #  1 , Dun Sol Go #  2 , Rhieun Kim  1 , Seung Won Lee  1 , Minsu Ock  3 , Young Eun Kim  2 , In Hwan Oh  4 , Seok Jun Yoon  5 , Hyesook Park  6
Affiliations

The Burden of Disease due to COVID-19 in Korea Using Disability-Adjusted Life Years

Min Woo Jo et al. J Korean Med Sci. .

Abstract

Background: The world is currently experiencing a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In Korea, as in other countries, the number of confirmed cases and deaths due to COVID-19 have been rising. This study aimed to calculate the burden of disease due to COVID-19 in Korea.

Methods: We used data on confirmed cases and deaths due to COVID-19 between January 20 and April 24, 2020 provided by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the local governments and the public media to determine disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) by sex and age. Morbidity was estimated directly among the confirmed, cured, and fatal cases. Disability weights were adopted from previous similar causes on the severity of COVID-19 for the years of life lived with disability (YLDs). The years of life lost (YLLs) were calculated using the standard life expectancy from the 2018 life tables for each sex and age.

Results: The YLDs were higher in females (155.2) than in males (105.1), but the YLLs were higher in males (1,274.3) than in females (996.4). The total disease burden attributable to COVID-19 in Korea during the study period, was estimated to be 2,531.0 DALYs, and 4.930 DALYs per 100,000 population. The YLDs and the YLLs constituted 10.3% and 89.7% of the total DALYs, respectively. The DALYs per 100,000 population were highest in people aged ≥ 80 years, followed by those aged 70-79, 60-69, and 50-59 years, but the incidence was the highest in individuals aged 20-29 years.

Conclusion: This study provided the estimates of DALYs due to COVID-19 in Korea. Most of the disease burden from COVID-19 was derived from YLL; this indicates that decision-makers should focus and make an effort on reducing fatality for preparing the second wave of COVID-19.

Keywords: Burden of Disease; COVID-19; Disability-adjusted Life Years; SARS-CoV-2; Years Lived with Disability; Years of Life Lost.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. YLDs for coronavirus disease 2019 by sex and age group. (A) YLDs; (B) YLDs per 100,000 population.
YLDs = years lived with disability.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Sensitivity analyses of variables used in the calculation of years lived with disability.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. YLLs for coronavirus disease 2019 by sex and age group. (A) YLLs; (B) YLLs per 100,000 population.
YLLs = years of life lost.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. DALYs for coronavirus disease 2019 by sex and age group. (A) DALYs; (B) DALYs per 100,000 population.
DALYs = disability-adjusted life years.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wu Z, McGoogan JM. Characteristics of and important lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: summary of a report of 72 314 cases from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. JAMA. 2020;323(13):1239–1242. - PubMed
    1. Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. COVID-19 regular briefing, 2020. [Updated 2020]. [Accessed May 11, 2020]. http://www.mohw.go.kr/react/al/sal0301vw.jsp?PAR_MENU_ID=04&MENU_ID=0403....
    1. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases of COVID-19 in Korea. [Updated 2020]. [Accessed May 11, 2020]. http://ncov.mohw.go.kr/bdBoardList_Real.do?brdId=1&brdGubun=11&ncvContSe...
    1. Yoon J, Yoon SJ. Quantifying burden of disease to measure population health in Korea. J Korean Med Sci. 2016;31(Suppl 2):S101–7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lopez AD, Mathers CD, Ezzati M, Jamison DT, Murray CJ. Global burden of disease and risk factors. The World Bank; 2006. - PubMed

MeSH terms