Change in Top Causes of Premature Mortality for Latino Population

This chart shows the change in the top causes of premature mortality for Latinos in the Finger Lakes region, comparing years of potential life lost (YPLL) between the years of 2009-2011 and 2018-2020. In the past, cancer was the leading cause of premature death for Latinos in the Finger Lakes region. It is now eclipsed by drug overdoses, which have spiked in recent years. While the overall number of overdoses is relatively small, Latino residents are overdosing at much younger ages than they are dying of other causes of death. 

This data visualization is part of Unheard: How Silencing Latino Voices Harms Latino Health Equity.

Methodology note: Years of potential life lost (YPLL) is a widely used measure to assess the rate of premature mortality. YPLL places a larger weight on the deaths of younger people, in contrast with overall mortality statistics which are dominated by deaths of the elderly. The YPLL rates in Common Ground Health analyses are derived using 75 years as the baseline. A death at age 65 has YPLL of 10, where as a death at age 35 has a YPLL of 40. The rates are calculated per 100,000 population and are age-sex adjusted to account for differences in population distribution.