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Fundamentals of epidemiology - an evolving text - Are you looking ...

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Crude rates are comparable because the crude rate for each group may be thought <strong>of</strong> as a<br />

weighted average <strong>of</strong> the group's specific rates, with weighting by the proportional size <strong>of</strong> the<br />

strata:<br />

deaths ∑ (rainai) nai<br />

ra = ––––––– = ––––––––– = ––––<br />

nat<br />

_____________________________________________________________________________________________<br />

www.epidemiolog.net St<strong>an</strong>dardization - Assignment solutions - 160<br />

rev. 12/22/1999, 8/1/2000<br />

nat<br />

∑( rai<br />

deaths ∑ (rbnb) nbi<br />

rb = ––––––– = ––––––––– = ––––<br />

nbt<br />

nbt<br />

∑(<br />

nat<br />

rbi nbt<br />

To say that both groups have the same proportional age distribution is to say that for <strong>an</strong>y<br />

age stratum (i.e., stratum "i"),<br />

nai<br />

rb = –––– = –––– = pi<br />

na<br />

ni<br />

nbt<br />

So ra=Σ[raipi], rb=Σ[rbipi], <strong>an</strong>d the two sets <strong>of</strong> specific rates are averaged using the same<br />

weights, pi.<br />

Indirectly st<strong>an</strong>dardized rates:<br />

From the formula at the top <strong>of</strong> page 4,<br />

Indirectly st<strong>an</strong>dardized rate = rt<br />

Rt<br />

)<br />

)<br />

rtRt<br />

× ————— = —————<br />

∑ (Rini)/nt<br />

nI<br />

Rt<br />

= rt ————<br />

∑ (Ripi)<br />

∑(Ri<br />

Since R t <strong>an</strong>d R i come from the st<strong>an</strong>dard population <strong>an</strong>d pi is the same for groups A <strong>an</strong>d B<br />

(though it may vary from stratum to stratum) by the conditions <strong>of</strong> the problem, the<br />

indirectly st<strong>an</strong>dardized rates for A <strong>an</strong>d B are each equal to their crude rates times a the same<br />

const<strong>an</strong>t. So a comparison <strong>of</strong> indirectly st<strong>an</strong>dardized rates in this case is the same as a<br />

comparison <strong>of</strong> their crude rates, which was shown above to be valid.<br />

nt<br />

)

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