Analysis and Study of Crude and Age Specific Mortality Rates

By Swastika Sarkar

Abstract:

Crude and age specific mortality rates are important factors for the study of epidiemology and also to understand the demographic characteristics of a particular area, city, district, state or country. It is a very important as well as useful in accounting various demographic characteristics and also to identify where it is lacking and the reason behind its lacking. Through this life expectancy, longevity, migration, standardization can be done which is useful in calculating various other forms of demography and will help in understanding a lot of factors. Crude mortality rate means  the TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS IN PARTICULAR POPULATION (MOSTLY ACCOUNTABLE IN A POPULATION OF 1000 PEOPLE) while age specific mortality rate is defined as the TOTAL NUMBER OF DEATHS IN A PARTICULAR AGE GROUP TO THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PERSONS IN THAT AGE GROUP IN A POPULATION OF 1000 PEOPLE. Life table helps in the calculation of CRUDE DEATH RATES and is helpful in estimating the overall death rates and also the causes behind it. AGE SPECIFIC DEATH RATE is calculated between the beginning of age ‘x’ upto the beginning of age ‘x+1’.

Keywords: Crude death death, Age specific death rate, demography, population.

Introduction:

The public health department demands of including mortality rates which gives an overview of the well being of the population. These mortality rates identifies the state of well being of various sociodemographic groups around a particular region, state, city, district or even country. Like in case of India the census is responsible for conducting various surveys on various socio-demographic characteristics like birth rate and their types, age sex composition etc. in this the crude mortality rate and the age specific mortality is also accountable and is essential for explanation of various problems and also the criteria for ending up those problems. Actually mortality is dependent on various factors like age, gender, ethnicity and place of residence. Usually it is seen that the females live more than the males due to various hormonal activities and also the physical condition. Like the old aged people and children and infants are prone to more to mortality than the middle aged people. Like in 1971 the crude death rate is only 7 per 1000 population and urban estimates are lower than the rural estimates as it has more advanced infrastructure and hospitals and healthcare facilities. 

Discussions:

There are various aspects to discuss about the Crude Mortality Rate and the Age Specific Mortality Rate like what are the meaning of those, what is the importance of these two, why one should study them, what is the reason behind studying them, etc. These questions can be answered as well as understood easily if case studies between the Developed, Developing and Under-developed countries will be provided. From each types two countries will be chosen and further discussions will be made according to that. In Developed Countries, USA and Italy will be taken into discussions and likewise in Developing countries, India and Brazil and in Under-developed countries, Afghanistan and Ethiopia will be taken into action to understand the two concepts, Crude Mortality and Age Specific Death Rate.

DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

USA:

Crude Mortality Rate is very much high in the USA. It is 923 deaths per 1,00,000 population. Major reasons behind the deaths are heart diseases(highest), cancer, accidents(unintentional injuries), stroke(cerebrovascular diseases), chronic lower respiratory diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, Nephrone related diseases and chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis. Moreover, during the pandemic Covid-19 the number of deaths are very high(49,932 deaths). Why this happens and how is the infrastructure related to all these will be discussed. 

Life expectancy in US in the year 2023 was 78.4 years an increase of 0.9 years from the previous year of 2022. Age adjusted death rate was reduced from 6.0% from 798.8 deaths per 1,00,000 population in 2022 to 750.5 in 2023. The Age Specific Death Rate decreases for all the age groups between 5yrs and also the elderly people. The death rate decreased from 3.9% for age group 5-14yrs, 3.4% for 15-24yrs, 9.4% for 25-34yrs, 7.1% for 35-44yrs, 9.2% for 45-54yrs, 9.3% for 55-64yrs, 8.5% for 65-74yrs, 7.7% for 75-84yrs and 0.7% for 85 and older. There was a distortion in this death rates during the outbreak of Covid-19 like the elderly and the children death rates are higher as their immunity is much more less than the mid aged persons and the youth. It is seen that the death of males from heart disease is more than the females. In Covid-19 also the ratio is same, while in the case of Alzheimer’s and dementia related diseases the female death rate is more than males. It happens because females have various responsibilities to manage like managing the household, taking care of the kids, dropping them to school, managing own work and office, taking care of the husband and the family. 

ITALY:

Crude Death Rate in Italy is relatively lower than other countries. It is 11.20% in the year of 2023. This happens as it has better infrastructure, healthcare facilities, and also less societal norms. This country has also less amount of pollution as it used more number of NMT or Non Motorised Vehicles like cycles, EV vehicles or buses and also walking. They also used public mode of transport and as a result pollution is less and mortality rate is also less. But regarding all this the death rate which is there is due to the old aged problems, any accidents etc. The death rate is highest in this country during the outbreak of Covid-19, the death rate is one of the highest during that time as the number of old aged people are more and the pandemic is more effecting the old aged people than the other age groups.

The population growth rate is -0.2% which means population is declining and there can be various reasons behind it like high mortality rate or low birth rate with standard mortality rate or high birth rate and high mortality rate. The reasons behind it has to be identified. From the graph it is analysed that the male population is significantly decreasing in the year 2050, this can be done by population forecasting method. Again the life expectancy for female is 84.3yrs whereas the life expectancy for the male is 80yrs only which is again same as the life expectancy of USA. The deaths due to stroke is more in females than in males. The death from lung cancer is relatively higher in males from which an assumption can be made that males smoke more than the females. In 2021 the main cause of deaths of all age groups is Covid-19.

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

INDIA:

In India the crude mortality rate is significantly decreasing in the past few decades which shows us that the infrastructure has been improved and also the societal characteristics and tantrums have been removed. This decreasing mortality rate increases during the time of Covid-19 and after recovering the outbreak it again decreases.

We all know that India is a diverse country with various states, languages, cultures, social belief. So the age specific mortality is different for different for different states. Like in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand the mortality rates for female and children is higher which shows that the infrastructure and the healthcare facilities are not upto the mark and as a result death happens. This also can be happened that various females can die during the time of giving birth as the facilities which are required for saving both the child and the mother is not there. Then comes the old age population whose death rate is higher after the female and child death rate.

BRAZIL:

In Brazil also the crude mortality rate is also decreasing in the past few decades which shows again that the infrastructure and other healthcare as well as other facilities also improved and also the societal pressure and tantrums are also decreased. There is a distortion of this trend during the outbreak of Covid-19 as the mortality rate increases during that time and after that the trend becomes equal that is it is decreasing.

The population growth rate is 0.4% which is acceptable and that means that the birth and the mortality rates are balanced and the role of infrastructure in balancing the population growth is immense. The maximum population lies between the age groups of 15-64yrs and the least population is between 0-14yrs. By 2050 it is seen from the graphical projection and the population forecasting that the youth population including both males and females decreases whereas the population of the old aged people like above 85+ increases, this indicates that the birth rate will go beyond the death rate and as a result the population will get decreased.

UNDER-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

AFGHANISTAN:

In Afghanistan also the death rate decreases that is very common in all of the above countries which are discussed but one peculiar thing about this country is that the death rate remains decreasing even at the time of outbreak of Covid-19, this indicates that the number of affected person is much more less than the other countries like Italy, USA, India and Brazil and other countries also because the death rate all over the World increases but here it decreases it indicates that the infrastructure and also the center of power is much more powerful to fight against the outbreak of this pandemic.

The population growth rate is 2.2%, it is quite high with respect to the other countries because of the social tantrums as well as the infrastructure and also center of power. The growth rate is high because the infrastructure is poor and also they do not have the proper facilities which should be provided to a particular citizen. And the government there also do not take any measures regarding the control of birth rate like in various European Countries they have rules that a particular family will not have more than 2 children but such kind of rule is not there and we all know that Afghanistan is mainly a Muslim dominated country so there are also social cultures regarding controlling of the fertility rate.

ETHIOPIA:

   In Ethiopia, like in Afghanistan also the death rate is also decreasing. The death rate is very high during the 1960s but it gradually starts decreases and also the same peculiar thing is happened here that the outbreak or the death rate due to Covid-19 is also less compared to the other European and American countries, this implies that the immunity system of this country is more higher than the other countries and as it is an under developed country so the infrastructure facilities is also not very advanced or so much up to date. So the immunity alone is responsible for saving the country from the spread of Covid-19.

The population growth is 2.6% and it is the highest among the above four discussed countries and this happens because the literacy rate is very much less and as a result they don’t have enough learning that the more number of children will create only trouble. They only understand that if there are more number of children then the number of earning members will be more and as a result they can live their life easily. The death rate is highest by lower respiratory diseases in males and this happens because of malnutrition and lack of healthcare facilities.

Conclusion:

Crude Death Rate (CDR) and Age-Specific Death Rate (ASDR) are both vital indicators used in demographic and public health studies to assess mortality patterns within a population. The CDR measures the total number of deaths per 1,000 individuals in a given year, providing a broad overview of mortality. However, it does not account for the age structure of the population, which can lead to misleading comparisons, especially between countries or regions with significantly different age distributions.Age-Specific Death Rate (ASDR), on the other hand, measures mortality rates within specific age groups. This allows for a more detailed and accurate understanding of mortality risks and patterns. ASDR is particularly useful in identifying vulnerable age groups, evaluating the impact of health interventions, and developing targeted public health policies.While the CDR is useful for general assessments and trend analysis over time, ASDR is essential for more nuanced evaluations and effective decision-making. Together, both indicators complement each other and provide a comprehensive picture of mortality in a population. Understanding and analyzing both rates is crucial for health planning, resource allocation, and improving population health outcomes across different age groups.

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