Years of life lost of inhabitants of rural areas in Poland due to premature mortality caused by external reasons of death 1999-2012.

INTRODUCTION: External causes of death are the third most common causes of death, after cardiovascular diseases and malignant neoplasms, in inhabitants of Poland. External causes of death pose the greatest threat to people aged 5-44, which results in a great number of years of life lost.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is the analysis of years of life lost due to external causes of death among rural inhabitants in Poland, particularly due to traffic accidents and suicides.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study material included a database created on the basis of 2,100,785 certificates of rural inhabitants in Poland in the period 1999-2012. The SEYLLp (Standard Expected Years of Life Lost per living person) and the SEYLLd (per death) indices were used to determine years of life lost due to external causes of death. Joinpoint models were used to analyze time trends.

RESULTS: In the period 1999-2012, 151,037 rural inhabitants died due to external causes, including 27.2% due to traffic accidents and 25.2% due to suicides. In 2012, the SEYLLp was 1,817 per 100,000 males and 298 per 100,000 females. Among males, suicides (SEYLLp = 633 years per 100,000) and traffic accidents (SEYLLp = 473 years per 100,000) contributed to the largest number of years of life lost. Among females, SEYLLp values were: 109 years due to traffic accidents and 69 years due to suicides (per 100,000). Among males, SEYLLp values started to decrease in 2008 at the average annual rate of 3.2%. In the group of females in the period 1999-2012, SEYLLp values were decreasing by 2.4% per year.

CONCLUSIONS: The decreasing trend of the number of lost years of life due to external causes among rural inhabitants does not apply to suicides among men. The SEYLLp due to this group of causes has been steadily increasing since 1999. Analysis of the years of life lost focuses on the social and economic aspects of premature mortality due to external causes.