The Effects of Diabetes, Hypertension, Asthma, Heart Disease, and Stroke on Quality-Adjusted Life Expectancy

Persons with each of the five diseases had significantly lower life expectancy and QALE. Because the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension has increased significantly in the United States in the last two decades, the burdens of these two conditions, measured by population QALE losses, had increased 83% and 29% from 1993 to 2009, respectively. Also, by examining changes in population QALE loss at different ages, policymakers can identify age groups most affected by particular diseases and develop the most cost-effective interventions by focusing on these groups.