Determining the Burden of Leading Causes of Death Responsible for Years of Life Lost in Bushehr Province, Iran

Mortality rates are important values that determine the significance of each cause of death. However, years of life lost (YLL) due to premature death from various causes is especially valuable since it is defined not only by the number of deaths due to a specific cause, but also the age of the dead individuals. In other words, YLL increases when death occurs at a lower age. This study calculated and compared YLL for the most important causes of death based on mortality data of the population in Boushehr Province, Iran during 2007. Based on the annual mortality rates, YLL values for 3 leading causes of death during one year in the province were computed for each gender separately. YLL proportionally decreased as age at death increased which is called discounting. Life expectancies at different ages, death age, and number of deaths were necessary data in calculations. The mortality data registered in the provincial health center was used in this study. On the whole, the annual YLL values due to the 3 leading causes of death were 9596, 8602, and 4037 years respectively for traffic accidents, heart disease, and cancers. In both genders, heart diseases were the leading causes of death. However, only in women, this cause of death contributed to the highest YLL while traffic accidents were responsible for the highest YLL in men. The annual YLL rates in 1000 people for these causes of death causes were 10.7, 9.6, and 4.5 years, respectively. Among leading causes of death, driving accidents had the highest influence on reducing life expectancy. Such an effect was especially detected in men because of the low mean age of people who died in driving accidents which increased YLL index. This survey showed that in promoting life expectance, YLL of causes of death is more important than the number of deaths they cause.