Burden of Intentional Injury in Baghdad During the Iraq War

Abstract

Introduction The impact of injuries on the worldwide burden of morbidity and mortality is gaining significant recognition. However, there is no agreed upon methodology for the calculation of the burden of injury on conflict stricken populations. Methods This analysis applied a variation of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) methodology to calculate incidence Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) due to intentional injury for the city of Baghdad from 2003-2014. The basis for these calculations was data obtained on a household survey of Baghdad by Lafta et al. in 2014. Results Our analysis arrived at an estimation of 5.60 million DALYs incurred due to intentional injuries occurring between 2003 and 2014 in the city of Baghdad. The burden of mortality in Baghdad from intentional injury was 4.99 million Years of Life Lost (YLLs). The estimated burden of injury morbidity for the city was 606,000 Years Lived with Disability (YLDs). Conclusion The GBD methodology can be applied to conflict specific data to generate an estimate of the burden of intentional injury. The use of this methodology should be expanded to additional conflicts to further validate our results and to better describe conflicts worldwide.