Premature Mortality (Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL))
What is it:
Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL) is a measure of premature mortality. YPLL subtracts the age a person dies from their life expectancy. For example, if a man in the United States dies of heart disease at age 65, the YPLL would be 13 because the average life expectancy for a man in the United States is 78. This means 13 years of potential life were lost in the car accident. YPLL is used by public health officials and researchers to evaluate the impact of programs on increasing the life expectancy of the population. YPLL does not account for the amount of disability or suffering involved with certain health conditions. That is measured using Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY).
Who has it:
198 Million Americans who are overweight or obese are, by definition, at higher risk for premature death.
Consequences:
Even moderate weight excess (10 to 20 pounds for a person of average height) increases the risk of death, particularly among adults aged 30 to 64 years.
Individuals who are obese (BMI > 30) have a 50% to 100% increased risk of premature death from all causes, compared to individuals with a healthy weight.
Two separate studies highlighted in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007, found the surgery patients’ mortality rate improved by 29% to 40% against comparably overweight people who didn’t have surgery. “Inactive Americans are eating themselves to death at an alarming rate, their unhealthy habits fast approaching tobacco as the top underlying preventable cause of death”‚ a government study found.
health & happiness
(years of potential life lost (YPLL))
