The Global Burden of Disease: Generating Evidence, Guiding Policy – Latin America and Caribbean Regional Edition

The Global Burden of Disease: Generating Evidence, Guiding Policy – Latin America and Caribbean Regional Edition summarizes changes in diseases, injuries, and risk factors in Latin America and Caribbean and compares the performance of countries in the region. The publication examines the growing threat posed by chronic diseases, violence, and road traffic injuries. Published by the World Bank and IHME, the report is based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010 (GBD 2010), a collaborative effort of researchers from 50 countries around the world led by IHME at the University of Washington.

The report explores changes in the leading causes of premature mortality and disability in Latin America. Potentially preventable risk factors including poor diet, high blood pressure, and alcohol use have likely fueled changing disease burden in many Latin American and Caribbean countries. The report also highlights the communicable diseases that persist in some of the poorest countries in the region and identifies the different diseases that cause short-term or long-term disability, such as depression, low back and neck pain, anxiety disorders, and iron-deficiency anemia.