RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Years of potential life lost (YPLL) are a health indicator which allows to discriminate the main causes of premature mortality weighting up the deaths according to the age of dead person. METHODS: Premature mortality in Aragón during 1987 is analysed by means of the indicator YPLL between the ages 1 and 64 years. The information given by this indicator along with that supplied by the mortality rates is used to obtain a more complete information of the role and relative importance of each one of the main groups of diseases of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9th revision) within the mortality in Aragón during that whole year. RESULTS: The biggest rates of YPLL by one thousand population were due to tumours (9.87), traumatisms and poisonings (8.84), vascular diseases (5.65) and digestive diseases (1.96). Mortality and YPLL rates were higher for males than for females and statistically significant differences were also observed when comparing the provinces of Zaragoza and Huesca with the province of Teruel (higher rates in the first ones) and when comparing rural with urban areas (higher rates in the second case). CONCLUSIONS: According to this indicator the preventive programs in Aragón should lead to the prevention of tumors, traumatisms, vascular diseases and digestive diseases, without forgetting that these illnesses have a bigger effect on male population and on urban areas.