Estimating the cost and burden of chronic diseases: A review on the methods and the evidence in LAC

Introduction During the past few decades, the developed world experienced an epidemiologic and demographic transition in which the mortality rates for most chronic diseases decreased dramatically, coupled with sustained increases in life expectancy and quality of life, and drastic decreases in fertility rates, as well as in child and maternal mortality. While the overall burden of chronic diseases continues to increase, age-adjusted death rates for most of these causes are declining, which also suggests the success of preventive interventions.