MONET 2030: Years of potential life lost

SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Goal description

«Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages is essential to sustainable development. Significant strides have been made in increasing life expectancy and reducing some of the common killers associated with child and maternal mortality. […] However, many more efforts are needed to fully eradicate a wide range of diseases and address many different persistent and emerging health issues. »

Excerpt from Swiss target 3.4: The increase in the morbidity burden due to non-communicable diseases and mental disorders has been halted and premature deaths are on the decline […]

Significance of the indicator
The indicator shows the standardised rate per 100 000 population of years of potential life lost. These are defined as the sum of the differences between the age of 70 and the age at which all deaths before the age of 70 occurred (premature deaths). The years of potential life lost due to premature death are evidence of a population’s state of health. A reduction in this rate, therefore, is a step towards sustainable development.

Help for interpretation
The indicator incorporates all health-harming factors that can lead to premature death such as chronic or acute disease and accidents. The decline observed is due, among other things, to changes in individual behaviour, prevention and health promotion measures as well as medical advances. The increase in 2020 is explained in particular by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

International comparability
The indicator corresponds with the OECD definition.

Synthesis

Comments: Synthesis of the observed trends for women (W) and men (M).
The assessment of each variable is expressed by a value without dimension (-1 for a negative assessment, 0 for an unchanged assessment, +1 for a positive assessment). These values are then added up and the result sets the general trend of the indicator.

Data come from the cause of death statistics. The years of potential life lost are divided by the number of inhabitants (permanent resident population). The rate is standardised per 100 000 population and is based on the demographic structure of the standard European population.
The age limit of 70 corresponds with the OECD definition, thus enabling international comparisons.

Swiss target 3.4: The increase in the morbidity burden due to non-communicable diseases and mental disorders has been halted and premature deaths are on the decline The number of suicides should be reduced by 25% per 100 000 population by 2030.

International target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.