The analysis of causes impacting on premature mortality is an essential function of public health surveillance. Diverse methods have been used for accurately assessing and reporting the level and trends of premature mortality; however, many have important limitations, particularly in capturing actual early deaths. We argue that the framework of years of life lost (YLL), as conceptualized in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), is a robust and comprehensive measure of premature mortality. Global Burden of Disease study is systematically providing estimates of YLL; however, it is not widely adopted at country level, among other reasons because its conceptual and methodological bases seem to be not sufficiently known and understood. In this paper, we provide the concepts and the methodology of the YLL framework, including the selection of the loss of function that defines the time lost due to premature deaths, and detailed methods for calculating YLL metrics. We also illustrate how to use YLL to quantify the level and trends of premature non-communicable disease (NCD) mortality in the Americas. The tutorial style of the illustrative example is intended to educate the public health community and stimulate the use of YLL in disease prevention and control programmes at different levels.

中文翻译：

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对现代方法的反思：因过早死亡而丧生的岁月-一种监测非传染性疾病死亡率的通用而全面的措施。

分析影响过早死亡的原因是公共卫生监督的一项基本功能。已经使用了多种方法来准确评估和报告过早死亡的水平和趋势；但是，许多方法都有重要的局限性，尤其是在捕获实际的早期死亡方面。我们认为，按照伤残调整生命年（DALYs）的概念，失去生命年（YLL）的框架是一种可靠而全面的过早死亡指标。全球疾病负担研究正在系统地提供YLL的估算；但是，除其他原因外，它尚未在国家一级得到广泛采用，因为它的概念和方法基础似乎尚未充分了解和理解。在本文中，我们提供了YLL框架的概念和方法，包括选择功能丧失来定义因过早死亡而造成的时间损失，以及用于计算YLL指标的详细方法。我们还说明了如何使用YLL来量化美洲早产非传染性疾病（NCD）死亡率的水平和趋势。说明性示例的教程风格旨在教育公共卫生界，并鼓励在不同级别的疾病预防和控制计划中使用YLL。