Years of Life Lost due to Diseases of the Digestive System in Poland in 2000-2014

Background & Aims: Diseases of the digestive system substantially contribute to premature mortality of the Polish population. Years of Life Lost (YLLs) are more and more commonly used in order to evaluate social and economic aspects of these deaths. The aim of the study was to analyse YLLs due to diseases of the digestive system in Poland between 2000-2014.Methods: The study material included a database which contained information gathered from 5,601,568 death certificates of Poles who died between 2000-2014. Data on deaths due to diseases of the digestive system were used for the analysis (i.e. coded as K00-K93 according to International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision). Standard Expected Years of Life Lost (SEYLL) wasused to calculate YLLs.Results: In 2000-2014 diseases of the digestive system contributed to 239,176 deaths of Poles (4.3% of all deaths), which corresponded to 5,470,096.8 YLLs (95.2 years per 10,000 population). Each death due to the above cause was responsible for the average loss of 22.9 years. Diseases of the liver, including alcoholic liver disease and fibrosis and cirrhosis of the liver, contributed to the highest number of YLLs (54.1%).Conclusions: Of all digestive diseases, the dominant causes of YLLs are alcohol-related liver diseases. In order to minimize this phenomenon, it is important to intensify public health activities, aimed at combating alcohol addiction in Poland.