Background: Potentially productive years of life lost (PPYLL) is an impact measure that illustrates the lost that a society suffers as a consequence of deaths of young people or premature deaths. Aim: To study the evolution of PPYLL in adults in the periods 1994-1996 and 1999-2001, according to sex, income quintiles and main diagnostic groups in the communities of Metropolitan Santiago. Material and methods: Ecological study analyzing the population of Metropolitan Santiago, that represents 36% of the national population. A total of 87,969 deaths in people aged 20 to 79 years were analyzed. Results: There is a greater amount of PPYLL among the poorest quintiles and men represent the higher number of PPYLL. In the different analyzed periods, all quintiles experienced a reduction in PPYLL. According to diagnosis, endocrine diseases experienced the greater decrease between periods, followed by respiratory disease. Noteworthy was the increase of PPYLL due to infectious diseases. PPYLL due to digestive diseases was 2.3 higher in the poorest quintile, as compared with the wealthiest quintile (20/20 ratio). The ratio for traumatic disease was 1.8. Conclusions: When comparing both periods, there is a net gain of potentially productive years of life in all income quintiles and in both genders