Disability-adjusted life years due to COVID-19 in Sri Lanka: a retrospective cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives To estimate the health burden of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka using disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and to investigate how the burden varies across age groups and sex.Methods and analysis A retrospective study was conducted based on information obtained from the daily situation reports and monthly epidemiological reports issued by the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka. DALYs due to COVID-19 in Sri Lanka from 27 January 2020 to 30 June 2022 were estimated by age and sex. For the calculation, we also included the DALYs due to mild anxiety for the family members of the patients with COVID-19.Results The total number of COVID-19 cases reported during this time period was 664 123, of which, 54% were males. There were 16 521 deaths reported giving a case fatality rate of 2.48%, which was higher in females as compared with males. The total years of life lost during this period is estimated to be 77 679 for males and 115 065 for females. The estimate of DALYs due to COVID-19 in Sri Lanka was 269 606 corresponding to 12.2 per 1000 population.Conclusion Compared with other countries, the burden of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, as assessed by DALYs, was relatively low. This may be due to the country being an island and the strict rules imposed by the government to limit the spread of the disease. Assessing the impact of COVID-19 using only DALYs does not reflect the devastating economic and social consequences experienced by the country.