Question

What is the importance of standardization of mortality rates? What is the usefulness of the different methods of standardization? Please elaborate your answer and provide references.

Answer 1

Ans) Standardization methods adjust for the effects of age (or other factors) in the comparison of rates between populations.
- Standardized rates can be used to compare the 'burden of disease' across populations
- Ratio of 1 indicates that populations being evaluated are similar in terms of the disease under study.
- Standard population varies depending on the populations to be compared.
- National population for evaluation of geographic regions
- World population, Continent population, Country population
- Sum of populations under examination.

Usefulness of the different methods of standardization:

- Allows for comparison of disease or mortality rates between populations of different distributions of factors related to disease like age, race, socioeconomic status etc. by adjusting for these differences.

Standardization of mortality ratio:

- Total observed deaths in a population divided by the expected number of deaths.