Taksler Glen B, Rothberg Michael B
Both authors are with the Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.
Am J Public Health. 2017 Oct;107(10):1653-1659. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.303986. Epub 2017 Aug 17.
To assess years of life lost to each cause of death in the United States between 1995 and 2015, and compare it with the number of deaths.
We used Vital Statistics mortality data and defined "life-years lost" as remaining life expectancy for each decedent's age, sex, and race. We calculated the share of life-years lost to each cause of death in each year, and examined reasons for changes.
In 2015, heart disease caused the most deaths, but cancer caused 23% more life-years lost. Life-years lost to heart disease declined 6% since 1995, whereas life-years lost to cancer increased 16%. The increase for cancer was entirely attributable to population growth and longer life expectancy; had these factors remained constant, life-years lost to heart disease and cancer would have fallen 56% and 38%, respectively. Accidents (including overdoses), suicides, and homicides each caused twice the share of life-years lost as deaths. Measuring life-years lost highlighted racial disparities in heart disease, homicides, and perinatal conditions.
Life-years lost may provide additional context for understanding long-term mortality trends.
评估1995年至2015年间美国因各种死因导致的寿命损失年数，并将其与死亡人数进行比较。
我们使用了生命统计死亡率数据，并将“寿命损失年数”定义为每个死者根据年龄、性别和种族计算的剩余预期寿命。我们计算了每年因各种死因导致的寿命损失年数的占比，并研究了变化原因。
2015年，心脏病导致的死亡人数最多，但癌症导致的寿命损失年数多23%。自1995年以来，心脏病导致的寿命损失年数下降了6%，而癌症导致的寿命损失年数增加了16%。癌症导致的寿命损失年数增加完全归因于人口增长和预期寿命延长；如果这些因素保持不变，心脏病和癌症导致的寿命损失年数将分别下降56%和38%。意外事故（包括药物过量）、自杀和他杀导致的寿命损失年数占比均是死亡人数占比的两倍。衡量寿命损失年数凸显了心脏病、他杀和围产期状况方面的种族差异。
寿命损失年数可能为理解长期死亡率趋势提供更多背景信息。
