Current Trends
Years of Potential Life Lost Before
Ages 65 and 85 -- United States, 1987 and 1988
Based on final mortality data from CDC's National Center for
Health Statistics, there were 12,074,193 years of potential life
lost (YPLL) before age 65 in the United States in 1987 (Table
1)--approximately the same as that previously reported on the
basis of provisional data (12,045,778 YPLL before age 65) (1).
YPLL before age 65 is a measure of mortality that reflects only
deaths occurring before age 65 (2). Provisional mortality data
for 1988 show 12,281,741 YPLL before age 65--an increase of 1.7%
over final data for 1987. As in previous MMWR reports, YPLL
before age 65 for 1987 and 1988 are calculated for the 15 leading
causes of death (3) and certain additional conditions of infancy.
In 1988, unintentional injuries remained the leading cause of
YPLL before age 65 (18.9%), followed by cancers at all sites
(14.7%), diseases of the heart (11.9%), suicide and homicide
(11.1%), and congenital anomalies (5.5%). From 1987 to 1988, YPLL
before age 65 caused by human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) increased by 30%
to become the sixth leading cause of YPLL before age 65 (Table
1). YPLL before age 65 attributable to diabetes and to homicide
increased by 6% each, while YPLL before age 65 attributable to
sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) decreased by 12%.
YPLL before age 85 reflect deaths occurring before age 85. In
1988, of the 23,398,098 YPLL before age 85, diseases of the heart
were the leading cause (22.9%), followed by cancers (20.1%),
unintentional injuries (16.7%), suicide and homicide (6.2%), and
cerebrovascular diseases (3.9%). From 1987 to 1988, YPLL before
age 85 associated with HIV/AIDS increased 30% to become the ninth
leading cause of YPLL before age 85. Suicide and
pneumonia/influenza increased by 6%, diabetes by 5%, and
congenital anomalies by 4%; YPLL before age 85 associated with
SIDS declined by 12%.
Reported by: Div of Surveillance and Epidemiologic Studies,
Epidemiology Program Office, CDC.
Editorial Note
Editorial Note: Crude mortality rates weight all deaths equally;
in comparison, YPLL before age 65 and YPLL before age 85
emphasize deaths among younger persons. Measures of YPLL
emphasize deaths among younger persons in two ways: 1) deaths
occurring beyond a specific cutoff age are not counted, and 2)
deaths occurring at younger ages are weighted more heavily. YPLL
before age 85 emphasize deaths among younger persons less than
does YPLL before age 65. In 1988, 28.6% of deaths occurred before
age 65 and an additional 50.3% occurred before age 85.
Based on both crude mortality and YPLL measures, the largest
change from 1987 to 1988 was the increase in HIV/AIDS-associated
mortality. Although HIV/AIDS deaths accounted for only 3.8% of
YPLL before age 65, they accounted for more than one half the
1.7% increase in YPLL before age 65 from 1987 to 1988.
References
CDC. Years of potential life lost before age 65--United
States. MMWR 1987;38:27-9.
CDC. Premature mortality in the United States. MMWR
1986;35(no. 2S).
NCHS. Annual summary of births, marriages, divorces, and
deaths: United States, 1988. Hyattsville, Maryland: US Department
of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, CDC, 1989.
(Monthly vital statistics report; vol 37, no. 13).
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