[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Epidemiology](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/) › [Public health indicators](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/areas/indicators/) › Years of potential life lost

# 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.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- YPLL = Σ (cut-off age − age at death) for each death before the cut-off.
- Usual cut-off ages: 65, 75 or life expectancy.
- Deaths at ages above the cut-off add zero.
- YPLL rate = YPLL / population younger than the cut-off age × 10ⁿ.
- It brings injuries, violence and perinatal causes to the front; diseases of older age move down the list.

On this page

- The basics Key points
- What it is
- Formula and reading
- Worked example
- The same list of deaths, ranked two ways
- Markers
- How to read it
- Common pitfalls
- Memory aid

- Study Test yourself

- Connections Connections

## 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.

## Memory aid

Each death subtracts from the ceiling: cut-off minus age; anyone past the cut-off subtracts nothing.

## 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.

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## Connections

## Related 4

- [Mortality rates: crude and specific](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/mortality-rates-crude-and-specific/)
- [Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/disability-adjusted-life-years/)
- [Life expectancy](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/life-expectancy/)
- [Standardisation of rates](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/standardisation-of-rates/)

[← All of epidemiology](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/)

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](https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/csels/dsepd/ss1978/lesson3/section3.html) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012); [Global health estimates: Leading causes of DALYs](https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/mortality-and-global-health-estimates/global-health-estimates-leading-causes-of-dalys) (World Health Organization, 2026).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.

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License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/years-of-potential-life-lost/