Years of Life Lost. This measures the number of years of life lost for each person who dies prematurely (before the age of 75 years). It can be used to examine different causes in relation to the total YLL for all persons dying of that cause of death or the average YLL for each person who dies of that cause of death. For instance, if 1,000 people die from a particular medical condition, 10 of them prematurely at an average age of 67 years (eight years prior to age 75 years) then the average YLL per person would be eight years, and the total YLL over all persons would be 80. Deaths with the greatest overall YLL will tend to have a high YLL per person where the person dies young (infant deaths, suicide and underdetermined injury, alcohol or drug related deaths, etc.) or a relatively low YLL per person with deaths occurring at older ages but a high number of overall deaths (coronary heart disease, lung cancer, etc.).
Also see: Disability Adjusted Life Years, Quality Adjusted Life Years and Life Expectancy (as healthy life expectancy and disability-adjusted life expectancy adjust life expectancy estimates for quality of life).