Years of Life Lost

Details: Published: 26 June 2025

All estimates can be consulted in more detail in our interactive online applications:
Estimates of mortality and years of life lost for 131 causes of death
Estimates of the non-fatal burden of 56 cancer types
Estimates of the burden of 38 key diseases
Estimates of projected non-fatal burden of 33 causes

1. Key messages

In 2022, the considered 38 key diseases led to a loss of 1.4 million healthy life years due to premature mortality.
In 2022, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and infectious diseases were the leading causes of disease burden due to premature mortality in Belgium.
The total disease burden due to premature mortality in 2022 was higher among men compared to women.
The largest share of the disease burden due to premature mortality was borne by the elderly.
The total disease burden due to premature mortality was the highest in the Walloon Region, followed by the Brussels Capital Region, and the Flemish Region.
Among EU-14 countries, Belgium ranks fourth worst in terms of disease burden due to premature mortality.

2. Years of Life Lost

Almost 1.4 million life years lost in 2022

In 2022, the considered 38 key diseases led to a loss of 1,378,490 healthy life years (11,842 YLLs per 100,000) due to premature mortality. Cancer, cardiovascular diseases and infectious diseases were the leading disease groups, accounting for more than 60% of the total disease burden due to mortality. The top 5 specific causes for YLLs were lung cancer (11%), ischemic heart disease (11%), cerebrovascular disease (7.8%), Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias (7.6%) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (6.8%).

Distribution of the Years of Life Lost by disease, Belgium, 2022
Source: Own calculations based on data from Statbel [1]

Men suffer a higher disease burden due to premature mortality compared to women. The age-adjusted YLLs equalled 14,998 per 100,000 among men and 9,242 per 100,000 among women. In men, the three leading causes for YLLs were ischemic heart disease (1,901 YLLs per 100,000), lung cancer (1,801 YLLs per 100,000), and self-harm (1,075 YLLs per 100,000). In women, the leading three causes were lung cancer (927 YLLs per 100,000), Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias (924 YLLs per 100,000) and breast cancer (826 YLLs per 100.000).

Distribution of age-adjusted YLL rate by sex and disease group, Belgium, 2022
Source: Own calculations based on data from Statbel [1]

In Belgium, the disease burden due to premature mortality is largely borne by the elderly. The majority (68%) of YLLs in the Belgian population are attributable to the group of 65+ years (31,645 YLLs per 100,000 in people with an age between 65 and 84 years old and 94,871 YLLs per 100,000 in people aged 85 and older). In the group with an age between 45 and 64 years, Belgians suffered from 10,561 YLLs per 100,000 (24%), followed by a total of 2,430 YLLs per 100,000 in the group aged between 15 and 44 years (8%). The youngest group (< 15 years) accounted for less than 1% of the total amount of YLLs. The leading specific causes with the highest impact in terms of YLLs per 100,000 were lower respiratory infections and brain and nervous system cancer in children with an age < 5 years, brain and nervous system cancer, and self-harm in children with an age between 5 and 14 years, self-harm and road injuries in youngsters and adults with an age between 15 and 44 years, lung cancer and self-harm in adults with an age between 45 and 64, lung cancer and ischemic heart disease in elderly with an age between 65 and 84, and Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and ischemic heart disease in people aged 85+.

Distribution of YLL rates by age and disease group, Belgium, 2022
Source: Own calculations based on data from Statbel [1]

The highest burden is in the Walloon Region

After correcting for differences in population size and age structure, the disease burden in terms of premature mortality was the highest in the Walloon Region (13,703 YLLs per 100,000), followed by the Brussels Capital Region (11,790 YLLs per 100,000), and the Flemish Region (10,896 YLLs per 100,000). The leading causes were similar across regions. In Brussels and Wallonia, ischemic heart disease and lung cancer ranked first and second among the most common diseases. In Brussels, the top three were completed by cerebrovascular disease, while in Wallonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) occupied the third position. In Flanders, the top three consisted of lung cancer, ischemic heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Ranking of disease groups by age-adjusted YLL rates, Belgium and regions, 2022
Source: Own calculations based on data from Statbel [1]

COVID-19 mortality drops in 2022

Looking at trends over time after correcting for the population size and age structure, the disease burden due to premature mortality has decreased for the top disorders. The disease burden of cancer has decreased from 4,252 YLLs per 100,000 individuals in 2013 to 3,676 YLLs per 100,000 individuals in 2022. A similar trend is observed for cardiovascular disorders, for which the disease burden has decreased from 2,807 YLLs per 100,000 individuals to 2,197 YLLs per 100,000 individuals in 2022. The number of YLLs caused by infectious diseases has increased because of COVID-19 between 2019 and 2020, rising from 692 YLLs per 100,000 individuals to 2,974 YLLs per 100,000 individuals. After which, the mortality-related burden dropped again to 1,420 YLLs in 2022.

Distribution of age-adjusted YLL rates by year and disease group, Belgium, 2013-2022
Source: Own calculations based on data from IMA, Intego, ERA, HIS, Belgian Cancer Registry and Statbel [1-6]

Belgium scores poorly among EU-14 countries

In 2021, according to the Global Burden of Disease 2021 study [2], the estimated YLLs in Belgium were above the mean of the EU-14 countries, ranking the country fourth-worst among the EU-14.

Age-adjusted Years of Life Lost rate per 100,000 by country of residence (EU-14), 2021
Source: GBD 2021 study [2]

Background

What are the most important diseases in Belgium? Which risk factors contribute most to the overall disease burden? How is the burden of disease evolving over time, and how does it compare with neighboring countries? To address these basic questions, Sciensano conducts a national burden of disease study, in which the population impact for 38 key diseases in Belgium is evaluated.

The burden of disease due to premature mortality is quantified using the Years of Life Lost (YLL) metric. YLLs are calculated by multiplying the number of deaths by the residual life expectancy at the age of death, thereby reflecting the number of years an individual has lost due to premature death.

We calculate disease burden estimates by age, sex and region, allowing for a very detailed assessment of the state of health. The complete set of estimates can be explored via https://burden.sciensano.be/shiny/daly.

Definitions

YLL: The Years of Life Lost, or YLLs in short, is a measure of the fatal disease burden in a specific population. YLLs are calculated by multiplying the number of deaths with the residual life expectancy at the age of death, thereby reflecting the number of years an individual has lost due to premature death.
EU-14: The EU-14 corresponds to all countries that belonged to the European Union between 1995 and 2004: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. We compare the Belgian health status to that of the EU-14 because these countries have similar socioeconomic conditions. Note: The United Kingdom is not included since they have left the EU.
Age-standardized prevalence: The age-standardized prevalence is a weighted average of the individual age-specific prevalences using an external standard population. It is the prevalence that would be observed if the population had the age structure of the standard population. Since age has an important influence on the risk of diabetes, this standardization is necessary when comparing several populations that differ with respect to their age structure. Here, the Belgian 2018 mid-year population is used as standard population.

References

Statistics Belgium (Statbel). https://statbel.fgov.be/en
Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network. Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 (GBD 2021) Results. Seattle, United States: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), 2022. Available from http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool.

Please cite this page as: Sciensano. Burden of disease: Years of Life Lost, Health Status Report, 26 June 2025, Brussels, Belgium, https://www.healthybelgium.be/en/health-status/burden-of-disease/years-of-life-lost