Cause-specific measures of life years lost

• Main Authors: Per Kragh Andersen, Vladimir Canudas-Romo, Niels Keiding
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research 2013-12-01
• Series: Demographic Research
• Subjects: competing risks; cumulative incidence; life expectancy; life years lost; multiple decrement life-table
• Online Access: http://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol29/41/

<b>Background</b>: A new measure of the number of life years lost due to specific causes of death is introduced. <b>Methods</b>: This measure is based on the cumulative incidence of death, it does not require "independence" of causes, and it satisfies simple balance equations: "total number of life years lost = sum of cause-specific life years lost", and "total number of life years lost before age x + temporary life expectancy between birth and age x = x". <b>Results</b>: The measure is contrasted to alternatives suggested in the demographic literature and allmethods are illustrated using Danish and Russian multiple decrement life-tables.