BeBOD estimates of attributable mortality and years of life lost due to tobacco use, 2013-2020

Belgian National Burden of Disease Study

Estimates of the attributable burden of disease

Our results build on the estimates of causes of death from the Belgian National Burden of Disease Study and apply comparative risk assessment to estimate the proportion of that burden due to risk factors.

Population attributable fraction

Based on the estimated level of exposure and the associated health risk, a population attributable fraction (PAF) is calculated. The PAF is the proportion of the disease burden that is caused by exposure to the risk factor.

Attributable burden

The burden of disease is quantified in deaths and in Years of Life Lost (YLL). To derive the burden attributable to a risk factor, its PAF is multiplied with the total observed burden.

Risk factors

Tobacco use

The prevalence of never, former and current smokers, as well as the daily number of cigarettes smoked by smokers, is derived from the Belgian Health Interview Survey. Bayesian regression models are used to smoothen, interpolate and extrapolate observed estimates.

More information

For additional background on BeBOD, please visit https://www.sciensano.be/en/projects/belgian-national-burden-disease-study.

Explore the estimates via https://burden.sciensano.be/shiny/risk.