Health Loss in New Zealand 1990–2013

Key findings

• New Zealanders lose approximately one million DALYs per year. However, health loss has been declining by approximately 1.2% per year on average over the past quarter century – meaning that health has been improving.
• In 2013 long-term conditions (chronic physical and mental disorders) accounted for 88% of DALYs; injuries for 8%; and infectious diseases, nutritional deficiency disorders and disorders of infancy for the remaining 4%.
• Over one third of DALYs are attributable to modifiable risk factors. Diet is the leading modifiable risk factor, accounting for 9.4% of total DALYs, followed by overweight and obesity (9.2%) and tobacco use (8.7%).
• Life expectancy has increased over the past quarter century, as has health expectancy. However, life expectancy has increased faster – so years lived in poor health have also increased.

This report was produced by the Ministry of Health, drawing on work done by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, which hosts the Global Burden of Disease project.

This ensures best use of the New Zealand data, along with optimal standards and statistical models, so maximising comparability with the results for other high income countries.

At present, results are available by age and sex, at a national level only.

Starting from the next report (scheduled for publication in 2018), analysis by Māori–non-Māori ethnicity will also be attempted.