Lancet
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Information on non-fatal health outcomes of disease and injury has been largely neglected in health planning because of the conceptual and definitional complexity of measuring morbidity and disability in populations. One of our major objectives was to quantify disability for inclusion in health policy debates. We analysed these health outcomes in terms of disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) and disability-adjusted life expectancy (DALE). ⋯ The higher proportion of lifespan spent disabled in high-mortality populations is consistent with the compression of morbidity hypothesis. The threshold definition of disability used substantially affects the results of DFLE, DALE, which incorporates severity weights for disabilities, is a useful summary measure of the burden of disability and mortality.
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Differences in baseline mortality, age structure, and influenza epidemics confound comparisons of cold-related increases in mortality between regions with different climates. The Eurowinter study aimed to assess whether increases in mortality per 1 degree C fall in temperature differ in various European regions and to relate any differences to usual winter climate and measures to protect against cold. ⋯ Mortality increased to a greater extent with given fall of temperature in regions with warm winters, in populations with cooler homes, and among people who wore fewer clothes and were less active outdoors.