Professional paper
Potential Years of Life Lost Due to Premature Mortality from Cancer in Karlovac County (Croatia), 2006–2010
Biserka Hranilović
; Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Public Health County of Karlovac, Karlovac, Croatia
Ervin Jančić
; Department od Neurology, General Hospital Karlovac, Karlovac, Croatia
Abstract
The aim of this paper was to estimate cancer burden in the Karlovac County using potential years of life lost due to
cancer and contribute to setting priorities in cancer control at the local level. Potential years of life lost (PYLL) is an important
public health mortality indicator that goes into the category of social indicators and has a great role in the process
of health care planning in defi ning priorities for the prevention of premature death. In this paper PYLL is defi ned as the
number of years of life lost by persons who died in the age of 1–75. In the period 2006–2010 there were 4118 death in Karlovac
County in the 1–75 age group which makes 48204 potential years of life lost, where 33856.5 (70.24%) PYLL referred
to men, and 14347.5 (29.76%) PYLL to women. Cancer was responsible for the largest proportion of premature death
(33.17%), in which 62.90% of premature death referred to men and 37.10% to women. Lung cancer was the leading cause
of premature death due to cancer for men (31.04% of PYLL due to cancer) and the breast cancer for women (17.95% PYLL
due to cancer). In the observed period cancer caused the shortening of the average life span of 11.9 years, out of which the
biggest loss was caused by melanoma (18.7 years). Population health measures based on PYLL are useful for measuring
and monitoring the impact of local efforts to reduce premature mortality.
Keywords
potential years of life lost; premature mortality; cancer
Hrčak ID:
147443
URI
Publication date:
26.12.2014.
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