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The Italian death rates and years of potential life lost (YPLL) for all causes and for 12 selected aggregations of causes are reported for 1979 and 1983, with the latter compared to United States data. Cancer is the leading cause of YPLL in Italy (23.8 per cent of total YPLL), followed by unintentional injuries (16.3 per cent) and heart disease (11.2 per cent). Rates of YPLL for all causes decreased 12.0 per cent from 1979 to 1983, the strongest declines in absolute terms being observed for prematurity and unintentional injuries, and in percentage decline for pneumonia and influenza, and infectious diseases; during the same period, YPLL for diabetes increased. The rates of YPLL are higher for males than for females (rate ratio = 1.9) especially for causes related to lifestyle factors. Premature mortality is lower in Italy than in the USA, because of the striking difference in mortality from injuries and heart diseases. (Am J Public Health 1988; 78:1202-1205.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]