Potential years of life lost: What is the denominator?

Abstract

Objective - To suggest an appropriate denominator for use with the statistic 'potential years of life lost', in order to facilitate valid comparisons between health authorities. Design - Analysis of OPCS population and mortality data for the period 1987-91. Setting - Data for Wales were analysed to provide comparisons between the nine district health authorities. Subjects - There were 46,139 males and 30,258 females - that is, all deaths of Welsh residents, aged under 75 years, during the period 1987-91. Main results - The use of age sensitive denominators with the potential years of life lost statistic alters the rank position of Welsh district health authorities. Conclusion - It is suggested that potential years of life lost should be expressed as a rate per 100,000 potential years of life in public health common data sets, and elsewhere, to facilitate valid comparisons between health authorities.