Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data are freely available to the world’s researchers and policymakers. All global, regional, and country-level estimates for mortality, disability, disease burden, life expectancy, and risk factors from GBD 2015 can be downloaded from the Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx), IHME’s catalog of the world’s health and demographic data.
GBD 2015, the next update of GBD, will be fully aligned with the suggestions outlined in the Guidelines for Accurate and Transparent Health Estimates Reporting (GATHER) Statement. GATHER defines best practices for documenting studies that synthesize evidence from multiple sources to quantitatively describe past and current population health and its determinants. These practices include documenting and sharing data inputs, analyses and methods, and results. Documenting the input data on which estimates are based, and the methods by which estimates are derived, is essential for the accurate interpretation and use of results. For more information, visit the GATHER website.
Information about GBD data inputs can be found using our Data Citation Tool in the GHDx. The tool allows users to explore the input sources to GBD based on various criteria, and to export the results. For GBD 2015, the tool will be enhanced to include exhaustive metadata about each input source such as sex, age, population, and sample size where relevant. All listed input sources are cataloged in the GHDx, and provider and url information for the datasets is provided whenever possible.
Information about GBD analyses and methods can be found in our research publications, some current data visualizations like MortViz, and An Integrative Metaregression Framework for Descriptive Epidemiology, an in-depth explanation of IHME's disease modeling process.
GBD results can be found in our research publications, current data visualizations, and the GBD Data Tool in the GHDx, which allows users to view and download whichever specific slice of GBD results data they select. Another tool, GBD Compare, lets users explore results in a more visual manner, such as contrasting countries and seeing how their health profiles change over time.