Abstract

Objective. To describe the burden of disease studies made in the region, identify the main priorities in health from the indicator Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). Material and Methods. By the use of DALYs identify the burden of disease in the countries in the network. Results. DALYs emphasize the emergency of mental disorders, diabetes mellitus in women and the disorders associated with alcohol consumption and injuries in men. Conclusions. Latin America is the region with more national studies of burden of disease, using a standardized methodology, that allows identifying new health priorities which are pressing to the health services; for that reason these results constitute an element to take into account in the establishment of public policies in each country.