title: Decomposition of differences in health expectancy by cause.
abstract: Health expectancy is a widely used measure for monitoring trends in the health of a population and assessing differences in health among population groups. However, no decomposition method is available to examine the contribution made by causes of death and disability to differences in health expectancy among population groups or periods. We present a method for decomposing differences in health expectancy, based on the Sullivan method. This method is an extension of the decomposition method for life expectancy developed by Arriaga. We illustrate the method and its added value by decomposing male-female differences in health expectancy for the Netherlands.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, PO Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands. w.nusselder@erasmusmc.nl
authors.forename: Wilma J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Nusselder
authors.forename: Caspar W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Looman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D015984:Causality; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D017678:Sex Distribution