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54–HLT Potential years of life lost due to suicide
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Definition
Rationale and notes for interpretation
Technical specifications
Data availability
Considerations for indicator quality and comparability
Responsibility to produce the data
Definition
Potential years of life lost (PYLL) due to suicide is the number of years of life "lost" from a suicide death, when a person dies "prematurely" - defined as dying before age 75. A suicide at age 25, for example, has lost 50 potential years of life.
Rationale and Notes for Interpretation
The most widely used indicator based on mortality rates is life expectancy. It measures average expectation of life, and therefore reflects both changing lengths of life for the very old, and changes in mortality rates for the non-elderly. PYLL is a complementary indicator focusing on mortality among the non-elderly. It reflects the level of success in preventing premature (and therefore presumably preventable or postponable) loss of life, with its consequent loss of social and economic productivity. It is an overall indicator of population health and well being, and effectiveness of preventive programs.
It should be noted that, at old ages, co-morbidity becomes very frequent and death is often the result of a complex process. This can make PYLL more meaningful for diseases that can be identified as the sole cause of death and for those that kill at an early age. Unfortunately, PYLL is only based on single causes of death statistics.
Note: In the 1970s and 1980s, Canada PYLL was based on age <70. Other cut-offs have been used by different countries and at different points in time. Any work done now on PYLL based on <age 75 will differ from published data on PYLL from most previous Canadian sources and should not be compared with each other. The choice of age 70 or 75 is arbitrary, and does not greatly affect time trends or inter-provincial comparisons.
Technical Specifications
Exclusions: Non-residents of Canada are excluded from the deaths and population estimates used in the numerator and denominator.
Calculation: Calculation: Formula is as follows:
| Age group | Years lost |
|---|---|
| 0 to 1 | 74.9 |
| 1 to 4 | 72.0 |
| 5 to 9 | 67.5 |
| 10 to 14 | 62.5 |
| 15 to 19 | 57.5 |
| 20 to 24 | 52.5 |
| 25 to 29 | 47.5 |
| 30 to 34 | 42.5 |
| 35 to 39 | 37.5 |
| 40 to 44 | 32.5 |
| 45 to 49 | 27.5 |
| 50 to 54 | 22.5 |
| 55 to 59 | 17.5 |
| 60 to 64 | 12.5 |
| 65 to 69 | 7.5 |
| 70 to 75 | 2.5 |
Total PYLL = (sum of all deaths in each age group) x (years lost (per table above)).
Crude PYLL rate per 100,000 = (sum of all deaths in each age group) x (years lost) x 100,000/estimated population.
Crude cause-specific PYLL rate per 100,000 = (sum of all deaths in each age group due to specific cause) x (years lost) x 100,000/estimated population.
Numerator: Deaths of persons under exact age 75, by age group, sex and cause. Take the midpoint in each age group, subtract from 75 and multiply the number of deaths in that age group disaggregated by sex and cause of death. This represents PYLL.
Denominator: Population estimate (only if a rate is desired; otherwise, no denominator)
Source: Statistics Canada, Vital Statistics, Death Data Base and Demography Division (population estimates); ISQ.
References: For PYLL age<75, various international health publications. For PYLL <70, Health Indicators 1999 (Statistics Canada ), Statistical Report on the Health of Canadians (1999).
Data Availability
- Expressed as crude rate per 100,000 population, aged 0 to 74.
- Results from the most recent available year (2004) are reported.
- Data available for Canada, the provinces and the territories from 1979 to 2004.
Considerations for Indicator Quality and Comparability
From 1979 to 1999, the underlying cause of death was coded using ICD–9; beginning in year 2000, the underlying cause of death was coded using ICD–10, introducing discontinuity to the trend data.
Multi-year trends should be examined when making comparisons using PYLL for suicide, since there can be variation for certain years due to delays in the certification of suicide cases.
In Ontario the legal standard for certifying suicide deaths was changed in July 9, 1992 when the Ontario Court of Appeal (Beckon v. Young, 1992) accepted the common definition, but strengthened the legal standard of proof for suicide. Since then, a rise in the number of cases certified as cause "undetermined" may indicate that these cases may have previously been certified as suicide.
Responsibility to Produce the Data
Statistics Canada