Dr. Kirk Barber interviews Dr. Aaron Drucker, one of the authors of "Canadian burden of skin disease from 1990 to 2017: Results from the Global Burden of Disease 2017 study," in the March-April edition of the Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery. Kirk and Aaron discuss some of the most important discoveries in the data found in the study and why it is a treasure trove for research and for putting together grant proposals.

Accurate and up-to-date data on disease burden at the population level are crucial for understanding the important causes of death and disability. While mortality from skin disease is rare, many skin diseases are chronic and associated with substantial morbidity. There are estimates of incidence and prevalence of specific diseases such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and melanoma, but there has been no comprehensive study of the burden of skin diseases and their associated disability in Canada, until now.

The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study aims to provide estimates of the fatal and nonfatal burden of disease. Metrics such as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) can capture this burden, improving our understanding of skin disease and informing future research efforts and public policy. Skin disease was the 18th leading cause of global disease burden according to GBD 2015. The 2017 iteration of the GBD study measures health loss from death or disability resulting from 359 diseases and injuries in 195 countries and more than doubles the number of data sources compared with GBD 2010. GBD data provides a unique opportunity to understand the burden of skin disease in Canada. Herein, we present GBD 2017 results on morbidity, mortality, incidence, and prevalence for 18 skin and subcutaneous diseases, including skin cancers, in Canada from 1990 to 2017.

Dr. Drucker is a Dermatologist at Women's College Hospital and the University of Toronto, focusing on eczema (atopic dermatitis) epidemiology.

Music is by Lee Rosevere.

JCMS Author Interviews is Produced by David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions in Ottawa.

davidrcmcguffin@gmail.com