International Comparison of Intercity Differences in Premature Deaths: Pyll-Rates in Canada, Finland and Russia 2010

Abstract

Background: Potential years of life lost (PYLL) rate describes the number of years lost due to pre-ventable premature death in a population. This is equal to the loss of human capital. Cause-specific PYLL-rates provide information for public health policy. Methods: PYLL-rate is calculated as an absolute difference between the age at death and the assumed length of life. Causes of preventable deaths are defined and classified according to International Classification of Diseases version 10 (ICD-10) as determined by World Health Organization. PYLL rate is age-standardized and expressed per 100,000 persons. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) standard of 70 years was applied as the expected length of life in Saint Petersburg (Russia), Edmonton (Canada), and Helsinki (Finland). Results: There were very big differences in PYLL rates of all causes of death between the countries compared. Total PYLL-rates were the lowest in Helsinki, slightly higher in Edmonton, and the highest in Saint Petersburg. The intercity differences in the total of PYLL-rates were considerably smaller among women than men. In each city, the three most prevalent causes of premature death were injuries, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Magnitudes of these causes varied between the three cities. Conclusions: PYLL rate provides comparable and sensitive information about the health related well-being of a population concerning all preventable causes of death as well as cause-specific premature deaths. The study demonstrates that the reduction of cause-specific PYLL-rates is possible. It provides supplementary information for planning of health policies and evaluation of effectiveness of past interventions. Results demonstrate that these actions need to differ between countries and localities.