The death divide: differentials in premature mortality by gender in Puerto Rico

The use of the indicator "years of potential life lost" (YPLL) highlights the extent to which premature mortality in Puerto Rico is a predominantly male phenomenon. While men accounted for 58.6% of all deaths in 1987, they represented fully 71.8% of all YPLL attributed to the thirteen leading causes of death. The breakdown of YPLL by gender also underlines sex-specific differences in the causes of mortality. While accidents constitute the leading cause of premature death among men, malignant neoplasms take the lead among women. Similarly, homicides and cirrhosis are significant sources of years of life lost among males, while pneumonia/influenza and diabetes are higher priorities among females. These findings suggest that health promotion strategies need to be gender-specific in order to reach the right targets.