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Ministry of Health
TABLE 34
POTENTIAL YEARS OF LIFE LOST AND
AGE STANDARDIZED MORTALITY RATES
BY SELECTED CAUSES OF DEATH
BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1998

  PYLL (Age Under 75 Years) Mortality (All Ages)
Cause of Death ICD9 Code(s) No. of Deaths Total PYLL Percent of PYLL Average PYLL PYLLSR No. of Deaths Percent of Deaths ASMR
Infectious/parasitic diseases 001-139 255 6,375 3.2 25.0 1.61 419 1.5 0.93
-AIDS/HIV infection 042-044 108 3,620 1.8 33.5 0.91 108 0.4 0.25
Cancers (malignant neoplasms) 140-208 4,261 55,744 28.1 13.1 13.55 7,449 26.8 16.46
-Lung 162 1,243 14,003 7.0 11.3 3.37 2,018 7.3 4.50
-Female breast 174 380 6,445 3.2 17.0 3.05 594 2.1 2.43
-Colorectal 153-154 325 3,803 1.9 11.7 0.91 634 2.3 1.38
Endocrine, nutritional, metabolic diseases 240-279 333 4,301 2.2 12.9 1.11 833 3.0 1.80
-Diabetes 250 250 2,735 1.4 10.9 0.67 617 2.2 1.33
Diseases of circulatory system 390-459 2,772 29,514 14.9 10.6 7.25 10,009 36.0 20.97
-Coronary heart disease 410-414, 429.2 1,530 15,335 7.7 10.0 3.73 4,902 17.6 10.34
-Cerebrovascular/stroke 430-434, 436-438 512 5,295 2.7 10.3 1.29 2,295 8.3 4.75
Diseases of respiratory system 460-519 691 6,624 3.3 9.6 1.69 2,948 10.6 6.14
-Pneumonia/influenza 480-487 224 2,647 1.3 11.8 0.68 1,420 5.1 2.90
-Chronic lung disease 491-492, 496 313 2,028 1.0 6.5 0.52 1,100 4.0 2.33
Diseases of digestive system 520-579 474 7,178 3.6 15.1 1.75 1,034 3.7 2.23
-Chronic liver disease/cirrhosis 571 215 3,638 1.8 16.9 0.87 279 1.0 0.63
Congenital anomalies 740-759 114 6,405 3.2 56.2 1.98 130 0.5 0.35
Perinatal conditions 760-779 66 4,917 2.5 74.5 1.61 66 0.2 0.21
External causes E800-E999 1,573 53,325 26.8 33.9 14.23 2,016 7.3 4.74
-Motor vehicle traffic accident E810-E819 331 13,216 6.7 39.9 3.68 380 1.4 0.95
-Suicide E950-E959 386 12,120 6.1 31.4 3.15 419 1.5 0.99
Other Causes   1,086 24,265 12.2 22.3 6.43 2,886 10.4 6.20
All Causes 001-799, E800-E999 11,625 198,646 100.0 17.1 51.20 27,790 100.0 60.02

Note: PYLL - Potential Years of Life Lost, denotes the total number of years of life lost from an established life expectancy (75 years).
PYLLSR - PYLL Standardized Rate per 1,000 standard population (Canada 1991 Census).
ASMR - Age Standardized Mortality Rate per 10,000 standard population (Canada 1991 Census).
Previous reports used an older standard population, therefore the rates should not be compared to those shown here.
Cause of death categories may differ from other tables.
Total percentage may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
Non-residents and one infant death (due to congenital anomalies) with gender unknown are excluded.

FIGURE 19
POTENTIAL YEARS OF LIFE LOST AND
AGE STANDARDIZED MORTALITY RATES
BY SELECTED CAUSES OF DEATH
BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1998

PYLL and Age Standardized.

HIGHLIGHTS TO TABLE 34/FIGURE 19

  • Out of the 27,790 deaths in B.C. in 1998 (excluding one infant death with gender unknown), 11,625 (41.8%) were under age 75. The proportion of 'premature' deaths varied considerably by cause of death:

    • 1,573 deaths from accidents and violence were premature (78.0%)
    • 4,261 cancer deaths were premature (57.2%)
    • 2,772 circulatory system deaths were premature (27.7%)
    • 691 respiratory system deaths were premature (23.4%).

  • Potential Years of Life Lost (PYLL) is used as an alternative measure of mortality to reflect the impact of deaths that occur at younger ages. For every death under the age of 75, there are potential years of life lost. A comparison of deaths from cancers and external causes illustrates the value of PYLL as an indicator. Cancers were responsible for 4,261 premature deaths and 55,744 potential years of life lost in 1998. In contrast, since accidents and violence claim younger lives, the smaller number of deaths under age 75 from external causes (1,573) resulted in almost the same number of potential years of life lost (53,325).

  • In 1998, an average of 17.1 years of life were lost per death under 75 years of age. The causes of death shown in the table that had the highest average Potential Years of Life Lost (PYLL) were:

    • 74.5 years lost per death due to deaths from perinatal conditions
    • 56.2 years lost per death due to deaths from congenital anomalies
    • 33.9 years lost per death due to external causes, particularly motor vehicle traffic accidents (39.9) and suicide (31.4)
    • 25.0 years lost per death due to infectious and parasitic diseases, primarily AIDS/HIV infection (33.5).

  • The Potential Years of Life Lost Standardized Rate (PYLLSR) for deaths from all causes was 51.20 potential years of life lost per 1,000 standard population in 1998.