Standardised QALYs and DALYs are more understandable, avoid misleading units of measurement, and permit comparisons

QALYs and DALYs combine years of life and quality of life in a single measure.1–3 In Arnesen and Nord’s words: “DALYs and QALYs are complementary concepts. QALYs are years of healthy life lived; DALYs are years of healthy life lost. Both approaches multiply the number of years (x axis) by the quality of those years (y axis). QALYs use “utility weights” of health states; DALYs use “disability weights” to reflect the burden of the same states.