Question

The mortality rate from disease X in city A is 60/100,000 in persons 50+ years old. The mortality rate from the same disease in city B is 120/100,000 in persons 50+ years old.

1.  Is the inference correct that disease X is two times more prevalent in persons 50+ years old in city B than it is in persons 50+ years old in city A? Why or why not?

In 2000, there were 65,000 deaths due to lung disease in cigarette smokers aged 20-64 years. The expected number of deaths among cigarette smokers based on age-specific death rates from lung diseases in all females aged 20-64 years was 15,000 during 1995.

1. What was the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for lung diseases in cigarette smokers?

Answer 1

#1. IS THE INFERENCE CORRECT THAT DISEASE X IS 2 TIMES MORE PREVALENT IN PERSONS 50+ YEARS OLD IN CITY B THAN IT IS IN PERSONS 50+ YEARS OLD IN CITY A. WHY OR WHY NOT?

MORTALITY RATE: A mortality rate is a measure of the frequency of occurence of death in a defined population during a specified interval.

REASON: The reason behind this statement is, the country's economy grows is different from a city to another and the burden of diseases tend to shift from wealthier to poorer segments of urban populations. The exposure to surge in mortality rate or disease risks may relate to a) unhealthy diet b) physical inactivity c) obesity and d) the usage of tobacco. This alter other cities from decreasing the risk rates of diseases.

#2. WHAT WAS THE STANDARDIZED MORTALITY RATIO FOR LUNG DISEASES IN CIGARETTE SMOKERS?

STANDARDIZED MORTALITY RATIO: is a ratio between the observed number of deaths in a study population and the number of deaths would be expected, based on the age and sex-specific rates in a standard population and the age and sex distribution of the study population.

Tobacco smoking was considered to be the reason for increased death rates in relation to cancer of the lungs in many countries. Recent study states that, the evidence of the magnitude of the increase in lung cancer associated with prolonged smoking ( sex and gender), the smoking rates are approximately equal in women as well as in men.The standardized mortality ratio, the death rate for men and women associated with lung cancer increased approximately 30 fold from age 45-49 years to age75-79 years among those who smoking either 20 cigarettes per day or 40 cigarettes per day at enrolment. The age interval corresponds to an average increase in the duration of smoking from 22- 26 years to 62-66 years among current smokers in the population. There is a much smaller increase in the age-specific death rates, who smoked 40 cigarettes per day and those who smoked 20 cigarettes per day.