Question

Death Causes

1. Fill-in the tables below with the following information for each of the age groups:

• Number of deaths from all causes
• Number of deaths from accidents (unintentional injuries)
• Cause-specific death rate for accidents (unintentional injuries)

Calculate the age-specific all cause death rates for each group and the proportionate mortality ratio (PMR) for accidents (unintentional injuries).

TABLE A

	2006 population	Deaths in 2006 (All causes)	Deaths from Accidents, 2006	Age-Specific All Cause Death Rate (per 100,000)
Total	274,633,642	2,426,264	121,599	NA
5-14	39,976,619	6,149	2,258
55-64	23,961,506	281,401	11,446
65-74	18,135,514	390,093	8,420

TABLE B

Measure of Mortality from Accidents	5-14 years	55-64 years	Ratio of age groups: (5-14) / (55-64)	65-74 years	Ratio of age groups: (5-14) / (65-74)
Number of Deaths from Accidents
Cause-Specific Death Rates from Accidents (per 100,000)
PMR (%)

1. Comment on the differences you observe across age groups among the different measures of mortality (keep the ratios in mind) in Table B.

2. Calculate and interpret the all-cause mortality rate for 2006.

3. What do the measures in Table B tell you about the risk of death from accidents (unintentional injuries) in each age group?

4. Explain why each measure of mortality in Table B is or is not a good indicator of risk.

5. Assuming the following information is accurate, calculate the case-fatality rate for accidents in 2006.

Age Group	Total Number of Accidents	Case-Fatality Rate
All ages	5,456,215
5-14 years	109,654
55-64 years	256,447
65-74 years	456,125

Answer 1