This slideshow examines disease burden in the United States and comparable countries as measured by Disability Adjusted Life Years, which take into account years of life lost due to premature death and years of productive life lost to poor health or disability. Although the U.S. disease burden rate dropped 14 percent between 1990 and 2010. comparable countries saw an average decrease of 18 percent. In the United States, mental health and musculoskeletal disorders are the leading cause of years lost to disability, while cancer and circulatory diseases are the leading causes of years of life lost.

The slideshow is part of the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker, an online information hub dedicated to monitoring and assessing the performance of the U.S. health system.