title: A Markov process interpretation of Sullivan's index of morbidity and mortality.
abstract: Using intuitive arguments Sullivan described a method of combining morbidity data and certain ordinary life table to produce an estimate of illness-free life expectancy. In this paper we use an increment-decrement life table specified in terms of a Markov process to characterize illness-free life expectancy. We show that when the illness under consideration satisfies certain properties Sullivan's approach provides a convenient method of approximation. We illustrate theoretical results with hospital morbidity data on Canadian males for 1981.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Newman
mesh_terms: D000206:Actuarial Analysis; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008390:Markov Chains; D009017:Morbidity; D011336:Probability