Years of potential life lost
- Measure
They add up how many years each person who died before a cut-off age still had ahead. They highlight deaths of young people.
What it is
YPLL measure premature mortality. For each death before a cut-off age, the age at death is subtracted from that limit, and the differences are added up. Deaths after the cut-off add nothing. So injuries, violence and infant deaths weigh much more than in an ordinary mortality rate.
Formula and reading
- YPLL for one death = cut-off age − age at death (if the difference is positive).
- Choose the cut-off before calculating and always report it, because it changes the result.
- Unlike DALYs, YPLL do not count years lived with disability.
- They rank causes of death by how much they shorten life.
Worked example
- A made-up town records 9 deaths in a year and uses age 65 as the cut-off.
- Road traffic deaths at 19, 24 and 33: 46 + 41 + 32 = 119 YPLL.
- A drowning at age 4: 65 − 4 = 61 YPLL. A cancer death at 58: 65 − 58 = 7 YPLL.
- A cancer death at 71 and three heart attacks at 67, 79 and 84: 0 YPLL, because they are past the cut-off.
- Total: 119 + 61 + 7 = 187 YPLL. Injuries and drowning (4 of 9 deaths) contribute 180 / 187 = 96% (rounded).
- With 20,000 residents under 65: rate = 187 / 20,000 × 1,000 = 9.35 YPLL per 1,000.
- Reading: by number of deaths heart attacks tie with road traffic, but by years lost injuries dominate.
The same list of deaths, ranked two ways
| Cause | Deaths | YPLL (cut-off 65) |
|---|---|---|
| Road traffic injuries | 3 | 119 |
| Drowning | 1 | 61 |
| Cancer | 2 | 7 |
| Heart attack | 3 | 0 |
Markers
- YPLL
- Cut-off age
- Premature mortality
How to read it
- YPLL are used to make the case for programmes that prevent injuries, violence and infant deaths.
- Where violence or road crashes are common, external causes move to first place when deaths are ranked by years lost.
Common pitfalls
- Not stating which cut-off was used, or comparing results with different cut-offs.
- Subtracting the cut-off from the age at death and getting negative values for older people: those deaths count as zero.
- Confusing YPLL with DALYs: YPLL do not count disability.
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
How are the YPLL of a death at age 30 calculated with a cut-off of 65?
65 − 30 = 35 years of potential life lost.
How many YPLL does a death at age 80 add with a cut-off of 65?
None: deaths after the cut-off age add nothing.
Why do YPLL put injuries first even though they cause fewer deaths than heart disease?
Because they affect young people, who still had many years before reaching the cut-off age.
What denominator does the YPLL rate use?
The population younger than the cut-off age.
Connections
Educational content on epidemiological and statistical methods; the examples use made-up numbers to teach the calculation. Not a clinical or legal guide: current Colombian rules are in the official sources.
Sources: Principles of Epidemiology | Lesson 3 - Section 3 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012); Global health estimates: Leading causes of DALYs (World Health Organization, 2026).
Spotted a mistake?We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it.Report a mistake
Representative model, for educational purposes only.