The Global Burden of Disease Study 2023 employed spatiotemporal modeling and burden-of-proof methodology to quantify disability-adjusted life-years attributable to intimate partner violence against females and sexual violence against children across three decades. This systematic analysis represents the most comprehensive effort to standardize violence-related health burden metrics globally, using Gaussian process regression to account for measurement heterogeneity across diverse reporting systems. The study's significance extends beyond epidemiology into health economics and policy prioritization. Violence-related health impacts have historically been underestimated in global health assessments, often relegated to social rather than medical domains. This analysis provides the standardized burden estimates needed to position violence prevention alongside traditional disease control programs in national health budgets. The methodology offers a template for future violence surveillance systems, particularly valuable for low-resource settings lacking robust reporting infrastructure. However, the reliance on self-reported exposure data likely underestimates true prevalence due to underreporting stigma. The population attributable fraction approach also assumes causality from observational data, which may overstate direct health impacts. Despite these limitations, this work establishes violence as a quantifiable public health priority deserving systematic intervention rather than fragmented social response.
Global Violence Analysis Quantifies Health Impact Across 204 Countries
📄 Based on research published in Lancet (London, England)
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