An international comparison of excessive adult mortality

Abstract

Empirical expressions derived by Coale and Demeny accurately characterized the relationships among death rates of different age groups for each sex during an extended period of time in Western nations. However, the relationships have changed in recent years, as the mortality of older persons has increasingly exceeded the level expected on the basis of these expressions. The recent disruption is relatively small for females and may be due to very rapid declines in maternal mortality. Among males, the change has been quite pronounced, and it is suggested that increases in cigarette consumption are largely responsible.

This paper is the outgrowth of a doctoral thesis written at the Office of Population Research, Princeton University, under the direction of Professor Ansley J. Coale. Professor Paul Demeny read an earlier version of the manuscript and made a number of helpful comments. Errors of fact or inference, however, are solely the author's responsibility. The editorial assistance of Neda Tomasevich, University of California, Berkeley, is gratefully acknowledged. This study was supported in part by the National Institute of General Medical Science (5 Toi GM 01240) and the Ford Foundation.

This paper is the outgrowth of a doctoral thesis written at the Office of Population Research, Princeton University, under the direction of Professor Ansley J. Coale. Professor Paul Demeny read an earlier version of the manuscript and made a number of helpful comments. Errors of fact or inference, however, are solely the author's responsibility. The editorial assistance of Neda Tomasevich, University of California, Berkeley, is gratefully acknowledged. This study was supported in part by the National Institute of General Medical Science (5 Toi GM 01240) and the Ford Foundation.

Notes

This paper is the outgrowth of a doctoral thesis written at the Office of Population Research, Princeton University, under the direction of Professor Ansley J. Coale. Professor Paul Demeny read an earlier version of the manuscript and made a number of helpful comments. Errors of fact or inference, however, are solely the author's responsibility. The editorial assistance of Neda Tomasevich, University of California, Berkeley, is gratefully acknowledged. This study was supported in part by the National Institute of General Medical Science (5 Toi GM 01240) and the Ford Foundation.