SYD 3020 Key terms for Module 3 Part 1 Significance of National Vital Statistics System Processes mortality data National Center for Health Statistics State Governments send info from death certificates here Maintains the National Vital statistic system U S Standard Death Certificate Based on standards of the United Nations Includes information like name birthday sex marital status Information on the person certifying the death Cause and time of death o Immediate cause and underlying cause included o As well as length of time over when these causes developed Factors that may have contributed to the death smoking accidents and injuries and for females pregnancy status Decedent s education Hispanic origin racial identity occupation and industry International Classification of Diseases Critical for comparing cause of death COD across countries and across people in different population subgroups Crude death rate The simplest mortality measure You need number of deaths in calendar year and population size to calculate it CDR D N x constant D Number of deaths in calendar year N Population size for that year The value of the constant can vary common constants are 1 000 10 000 and 100 000 The constant helps us determine the rate Disadvantage of CDR is that is it not useful for comparing populations because it does not take into account differences in a populations age composition Age composition The proportion of the population in each age group Some populations are young meaning more people are at young ages rather than old ages Age structure of mortality Structure means the pattern doesn t change no matter what population were looking at or what time period The lazy J pattern the age structure of mortality graph Tells us the risk of dying is at its highest at very young ages and very old ages After birth the risk drops very rapidly and this pattern holds until age 5 then you have years where your risk stays quite low during adolescents risk will rise Age specific death rates ASDR Da Na x Constant Intrinsic mortality Death is part of being human unavoidable aspect of our biology When we die and how depends on o 1 WHEN we live o 2 WHERE we live factors o Diet Different line heights lazy J graph reflect influence of social o Behaviors o Medical Care and access to it Life table Age specific death rates are necessary to calculate a critical mortality measure life expectancy Demographers estimate life expectancy using a set of calculations which all together form a life table DO NOT NEED TO KNOW HOW TO CONSTRUCT A LIFE TABLE MUST KNOW 2 THINGS THOUGH 1 Life table starts with the of deaths at each age and the populations size at those ages very much like the age specific death rates e 2 Ends with years of life remaining at each age Life expectancy Demographic Symbols 1 Years of Life Remaining ex where x represents age a Example The expectation of age 100 is represented by the lower case e but it would also have a 100 subscript x 2 Life expectancy at birth e0 On average older people can expect to live longer why o The longer you ve lived the greater the age you can expect to live to o Think of it this way we as younger people sometimes think of older elderly people as frail However frail older people have proven their strength and their ability to resist death year after year Longevity Life expectancy is a numeric measure of longevity o Longevity varies Depending on time place and social statuses Epidemiologic Transition Linked to mortality transition Epidemiologic Transition a change in the prevailing causes of mortality in Europe and the US Epidemiologic Transition Model visually depicts how the mortality transition occurred and why life expectancy has increased Acute infectious diseases Primary cause of death throughout history Includes epidemic outbreaks ie Diphtheria polio measles meningitis Children Infants most vulnerable Mortality rates declined in the mid 18th century o US Europe o Better living conditions modernization decline in mortality from acute infectious diseases Medical Knowledge o Over the next 200 years antibiotics and vaccines were gradually developed o Developments reduced exposure to and deaths from infectious diseases infants children benefited the most Degenerative diseases Degenerative develop over time o Heart disease cancers strokes and lung disease If you live beyond ages 30 35 your body will gradually begin to show signs of the onset of chronic degenerative disease Degenerative diseases reflect two related factors o 1 Senescence cellular changes in every physical part in our bodies o 2 Our own behaviors what we eat drink do and even what the people around us do Delayed degenerative diseases Man Made o Diseases that develop due to exposure to toxins Environmental Pollutants of the air water Behaviors cigarette smoking drug alcohol abuse Delaying Death o Medical technology has made it possible to live a long time with many of these diseases Senescence Cellular changes in the tissues that make up our organs bones joints every physical part in our bodies o Results of Senescence are visibly seen in any person that has reached late middle age Wrinkles Graying Hair Joint Replacements Hearing Aids Etc Our own behaviors affect senescence too Senescence can either be sped up or slowed down Examples Running your knees may bother you early signs of arthritis High alcohol consumption liver cells may begin to make mistakes cancer liver disease Smoker smokers cough and shortness of breath early signs of lung disease Survival Curves Medical Advancements parts of our bodies Examples o Allowed us to moderate the effects of senescence on critical Organ transplants and effective chemotherapies o Allow people to live for decades beyond diagnoses of heart disease or cancer o Survival stories were very rare only 3 decades ago o Medical knowledge has allowed many of us to delay death from degenerative diseases We are living into our 80s and 90s MORTALITY DECLINE AMONG THE ELDERLY Mortality Decline Among the Elderly o A decline that is pushing longevity upwards o Survival Curve is used to look at what this means Survival Curve How To o 1 Use a life table to estimate the probability of surviving at each age o 2 Graph probabilities which makes a survival curve Rectangularization Reflects the fact that mortality has been compressed into a afar narrower range of ages concentrated at ages 55 Supercentenarian Someone who lives to 110 or beyond o Jeanne Calment holds the record for the longest