INTRODUCTION

Driving changes in an environment are the factors that demands a population to change,
not remain the same all throughout. Factors causing change in population: migration, mortality
and natality.

Demographers refer mortality as death rates and it is one of the prominent parameters
that shape a population (Krebs, 2001) . Components that causes mortality are predation,
illnesses, catastrophic events, hazards and the casualties demonstrates the changes in a
populace and it likewise demonstrates the quantity of individuals that survived the event. The
thought exhibits that to what extent can the species longevity to survive. Mortality is a good
concept for an ecologist for it makes researchers infer why population changes, figure out
how long, and what can the species withstand through time.

Raymond Pearl introduced life tables on 1951. Life tables are used display mortality as
what demographers do. A life table gives data about the quantity of individuals at w distinctive
age class and the specific survival or mortality in these classes. (Stiling, 2015) . Three types of
life tables: cohort life table, static life table, and composite life table. Cohort life table is the data
collection of following a cohort throughout its life. Static life table is collected from a cross-
section of the population at one particular time or during a short segment of time. Composite life
table are data gathered over a number of years and generations using cohort or time-specific
techniques.

Survivorship curves are used when one is interested in per capita rates of change rather than just
mere absolute numbers (Krebs, 2001) . The three types of survivorship curves: Type I, Type II,
and Type III. Type I curves depict individuals that have a high probability of surviving to
adulthood. Type II curves depict individuals whose chance of survival is independent of
age. Type III curves depict individuals that mostly die in the early stages of their life.

Throughout history, human mortality and survivorship has changed by the advancement
of society. A cure for ailments, ability to anticipate catastrophes, and predators be stayed away
from. Culture, religion, economic status, and sexual orientation are a few factors that reason
mortality. The hypothesis of the study done showed the differences between genders of the
mortality rates in Cebu City so the factors that contribute to the difference in mortality rates have
to be determined. The morality rate in Cebu was compared to the mortality rate of the whole
nation and the hypothesis was null because Cebu City had the same mortality rate with the nation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was conducted within the cemeteries of Cebu City. The four cemeteries where
the data was gathered:

The birth and death year of 100 males and females in each cemetery were recorded. Only
individuals born in the year 1900 to 2017 were to be included. The age of death for each
individual in the study was determined by subtracting the birth year from the death year. Age
classes with an interval of 5 were created and the solved death ages were grouped to find out
how many individuals died in each age class. This is the cohort of the study. A cohort is defined
as a group of same aged young that grow and survive at similar rates however the members of a
population are of different ages that is why they have to be placed in age classes (Stiling, 2015).
The usual number of individuals in a cohort is 1000 at birth.

Based on the data gathered, one can determine the number of individuals that died in each
age class after collating the data; this is the dx from which the other parameters in mortality can
be calculated. The different parameters of mortality and how it is calculated is seen in table 1.

Tb. 1. The different parameters found in a life table

Parameter Description How to solve

x Shows the unit of age or age *Not solved
interval
lx The number of surviving Cumulatively subtract the dx of each
individuals in the age class age class
 dx The number of deaths in the *Not solved in the experiment but may
age class be solved by subtracting the 1st lx with
the 2nd lx, the 2nd with the 3rd…
qx Mortality rate of each age u
ul
class, death probability u

Sx Age-specific survival rate ul g u

Lx The average number of u ൅u
ul
years lived by all
Average of the lx of 1st and 2nd age
individuals at each category
interval, 2nd and 3rd age interval and so
on…
Tx Number of time units left Sum of all the Lx from the bottom of
for all individuals of the age the table going up to the age class to be
class solved
ex Life expectancy u
ul
u

Life Expectancy Life expectancy range of u ݁ ܿ ‫ݐ‬

l u ൅ ܿ݁ Li ݁摸 t
individuals in the interval

After solving the parameters, a life table was constructed. 3 life tables were made in the
experiment. One life table represented the life table of both sexes in the local population while
the other two were for each sex of the population. Survivorship curves for the local population
were also generated. The survivorship curve is constructed by having a graph where the y-axis is
the log of lx and the x-axis is age the intervals.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The data was gathered in four different cemeteries in Cebu City by four different groups.
The data was then analyzed and interpreted in tables and graphs. Mortality or life expectancy and
age are shown on graphs. The age specific mortality of males and females are shown in the
different tables provided below.
 Fig. 1. A graph showing life expectancy versus age of both sexes combined.

Fig. 2. A graph showing mortality versus age of both sexes combined.

Life expectancy and age share an inverse relationship as shown in Figure 1. By four to
five years, life expectancy dropped as the person ages and as shown in Figure 2, age is
proportional to mortality. As shown in the graph, the risk of dying is increasing as the individual
grows older.

Tb. 2. Life table of female population.

LIFE SURVIVOR
Age (x) lx Log lx dx qx sx Lx Tx ex
EXPECTANCY SHIP
0 to 5 1000 3.0 42 0.042 0.958 979 11926 11.93 59.63 59.6
6 to 10 958 3.0 10 0.054 0.946 953 10947 11.43 57.13 57.1
11 to 15 948 3.0 4 0.059 0.941 946 9994 10.54 52.71 52.7
16 to 20 944 3.0 8 0.068 0.932 940 9048 9.58 47.92 48.0
21 to 25 936 3.0 20 0.090 0.910 926 8108 8.66 43.31 43.3
26 to 30 916 3.0 14 0.107 0.893 909 7182 7.84 39.20 39.2
31 to 35 902 3.0 18 0.129 0.871 893 6273 6.95 34.77 34.8
36 to 40 884 2.9 32 0.167 0.833 868 5380 6.09 30.43 30.4
41 to 45 852 2.9 50 0.232 0.768 827 4512 5.30 26.48 26.5
46 to 50 802 2.9 64 0.327 0.673 770 3685 4.59 22.97 23.0
51 to 55 738 2.9 82 0.466 0.534 697 2915 3.95 19.75 19.8
56 to 60 656 2.8 86 0.655 0.345 613 2218 3.38 16.91 16.9
61 to 65 570 2.8 126 0.975 0.025 507 1605 2.82 14.08 14.1
66 to 70 444 2.6 88 1.450 -0.450 400 1098 2.47 12.36 12.4
71 to 75 356 2.6 100 2.090 -1.090 306 698 1.96 9.80 9.8
76 to 80 256 2.4 108 3.328 -2.328 202 392 1.53 7.66 7.7
81 to 85 148 2.2 62 6.176 -5.176 117 190 1.28 6.42 6.4
86 to 90 86 1.9 60 11.326 -10.326 56 73 0.85 4.24 4.2
91 to 95 26 1.4 22 38.308 -37.308 15 17 0.65 3.27 3.3
96 to 100 4 0.6 4 250.000 -249.000 2 2 0.50 2.50 2.5
Grand
0 - 1000 - - - - - -
Total
Tb. 3. Life table of male population.
LIFE SURVIV
AGE (X) lx Log lx dx qx sx Lx Tx ex
EXPECTANCY ORSHIP
0 TO 5 1000 3.0 38 0.038 0.962 981 10904 10.90 54.52 54.6
6 TO 10 962 3.0 8 0.048 0.952 958 9923 10.31 51.57 51.6
11 TO 15 954 3.0 6 0.055 0.945 951 8965 9.40 46.99 47.0
16 TO 20 948 3.0 14 0.070 0.930 941 8014 8.45 42.27 42.3
21 TO 25 934 3.0 28 0.101 0.899 920 7073 7.57 37.86 37.9
26 TO 30 906 3.0 38 0.146 0.854 887 6153 6.79 33.96 34.0
31 TO 35 868 2.9 38 0.196 0.804 849 5266 6.07 30.33 30.4
36 TO 40 830 2.9 64 0.282 0.718 798 4417 5.32 26.61 26.7
41 TO 45 766 2.9 40 0.358 0.642 746 3619 4.72 23.62 23.7
46 TO 50 726 2.9 82 0.490 0.510 685 2873 3.96 19.79 19.8
51 TO 55 644 2.8 96 0.702 0.298 596 2188 3.40 16.99 17.0
 56 TO 60 548 2.7 98 1.004 -0.004 499 1592 2.91 14.53 14.6
61 TO 65 450 2.7 110 1.467 -0.467 395 1093 2.43 12.14 12.2
66 TO 70 340 2.5 92 2.212 -1.212 294 698 2.05 10.26 10.3
71 TO 75 248 2.4 90 3.395 -2.395 203 404 1.63 8.15 8.2
76 TO 80 158 2.2 68 5.759 -4.759 124 201 1.27 6.36 6.4
81 TO 85 90 2.0 66 10.844 -9.844 57 77 0.86 4.28 4.3
86 TO 90 24 1.4 16 41.333 -40.333 16 20 0.83 4.17 4.2
91 TO 95 8 0.9 8 125.000 -124.00 4 4 0.50 2.50 2.5
96 TO
0 0.0 0 0 0.962 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.0
100
GRAND
0 - 1000 - - - - - - -
TOTAL

As shown in Table 2, there is a sudden increase on females that age from 61-65. From
0.655 of the 56-60 age range, the mortality rate increased to 0.975 for the 61-65 age range. A
newborn female life expectancy is approximately 60 years of age. The mortality of males spiked
from ages 56-60 years old by 1.004 with a range to 1.467 for the males that ages 61-65 as shown
in table 3. A newborn male’s life expectancy is 55 years of age. Both of the tables show that the
life expectancy of a male is 5 years earlier than females.

Table. 4. Life table of female and male population.

LIFE SURVIVOR
AGE (x) lx log lx dx qx sx Lx Tx ex
EXPECTANCY SHIP
0-5 1000 3.0 40 0.040 0.960 980 11415 11.42 57.08 57.1
6 TO 10 960 3.0 9 0.051 0.949 955.5 10435 10.87 54.35 54.4
11 TO 15 951 3.0 5 0.057 0.943 948.5 9479.5 9.97 49.84 49.8
16 TO 20 946 3.0 11 0.069 0.931 940.5 8531 9.02 45.09 45.1
21 TO 25 935 3.0 24 0.095 0.905 923 7590.5 8.12 40.59 40.6
26 TO 30 911 3.0 26 0.126 0.874 898 6667.5 7.32 36.59 36.6
31 TO 35 885 2.9 28 0.162 0.838 871 5769.5 6.52 32.60 32.6
36 TO 40 857 2.9 48 0.223 0.777 833 4898.5 5.72 28.58 28.6
41 TO 45 809 2.9 45 0.292 0.708 786.5 4065.5 5.03 25.13 25.1
46 TO 50 764 2.9 73 0.404 0.596 727.5 3279 4.29 21.46 21.5
51 TO 55 691 2.8 89 0.576 0.424 646.5 2551.5 3.69 18.46 18.5
56 TO 60 602 2.8 92 0.814 0.186 556 1905 3.16 15.82 15.8
61 TO 65 510 2.7 118 1.192 -0.192 451 1349 2.65 13.23 13.2
66 TO 70 392 2.6 90 1.781 -0.781 347 898 2.29 11.45 11.5
71 TO 75 302 2.5 95 2.626 -1.626 254.5 551 1.82 9.12 9.1
76 TO 80 207 2.3 88 4.256 -3.256 163 296.5 1.43 7.16 7.2
81 TO 85 119 2.1 64 7.941 -6.941 87 133.5 1.12 5.61 5.6
86 TO 90 55 1.7 38 17.873 -16.873 36 46.5 0.85 4.23 4.2
91 TO 95 17 1.2 15 58.706 -57.706 9.5 10.5 0.62 3.09 3.1
96 TO 100 2 0.3 2 500 -499 1 1 0.50 2.50 2.5
 GRAND
0 - 1000 - - - - - - -
TOTAL

Both sexes are shown in table 4, by the age of 61-65 mortality rate spikes for the same
population. In the study site, a newborn individual’s life expectancy is approximately 57 years.
To normalize the distribution of the data, a curve Log lx was constructed.

Fig. 4. A graph showing the survivorship curve of the female population.

 Fig. 5. A graph showing the survivorship curve of the male population.

Fig. 6. A graph showing the survivorship curve of female and male population.
 A type 1 survivorship was generated by the data shown in figures 4, 5, and 6 and it shows
that there is a very high rate of survivorship in individuals on their early and middle life and as
they age older, there is a big drop of survivorship for individuals in their late life. The graph
basically shows that there is a high chance for individuals to reach adulthood but the number of
individuals that survive adulthood is declining. Life expectancy increases each year due to the
improvements in living conditions in technology and advances in medicine resulting in an
incremental increase in elderly population (Arai et al., 2012). Survivorship is plotted as convex
on graphs.

Fig. 7. A graph showing the difference between the life expectancy of males and females
 Fig. 8. A graph showing the difference between the mortality of females and males.
A female has a longer life expectancy than those of males as shown in figure 7. Figure 8
shows the results coincides the mortality of male and females wherein males have a higher
mortality compared to females. Women still live 5 to 10 years longer than men. Among people
over 100 years old, 85% are women (Perls, 2008). Among the individuals that aged 100 years are
85% females. Cardiovascular diseases are one of the reasons why males die earlier than females,
mainly because men suffer testosterone storm in their mid adult time which means the levels of
hormones are high, which is dangerous to young men. Males tend to develop cardiovascular
diseases at their 50’s while females develop them at their 70’s. Males tend to work more than
females which increase the risks every single day compared to women. Men have the XY
chromosome; X-linked diseases are more likely to be manifested among them than in females.
This is because in genetics, having one X chromosome would let the diseased phenotype become
easily manifested compared to being a female that has XX sex chromosomes, it would take her
two affected X chromosomes to manifest an X-linked diseases. Men usually have the tendency to
succumb to habits or vices like drinking and smoking, since it was viewed as unacceptable
before for women to do the same. Studies show that women are also beginning to drink and
smoke as much as a man does. A study by Giampapa shows that women tend to but not always
have longer telomeres and stronger immune system than men.

Life tables are created to help population researchers determine the mortality and
survivorship rates of a population. Life tables are based on the assumption that the age
distribution is stable from generation to generation. However, in natural populations, this is not
always the case. It is possible that due to natural calamities and other external forces, the age
distribution of a population may suddenly change from one to another. This change will make
the life table that was previously constructed for that population wrong. Mortality and
survivorship rates are dynamic; they are never always the same throughout time so
demographers have to keep on constructing new ones often because advances like medicine and
surgical technology in humans have contributed to having lesser mortality throughout the years.
There are two types of life tables that can be constructed and their difference lies in the way their
data is gathered and some assumptions when they are made. A cohort life table is also known as
the generation or horizontal life table (Krebs, 2001). It is made by identifying a large number of
individuals born about the same time and following them from birth to death so that the age of
each death can be recorded. An assumption that should be considered when constructing a cohort
life table is that the cohort is a representative of the whole population. This kind of life table is
the one that is used for organisms that do not have a very long life span. The second type of life
table is the static life table, also known as stationary, time specific, current or vertical life table
(Krebs, 2001). This kind of life table is made by recording the age at death for a large number of
individuals of a population. The individuals are not part of the same cohort. In static life tables,
the assumption would be that conditions at the time of sampling are representative of conditions
in the population throughout time. These are usually constructed for organisms that are very
long-lived so having a cohort would be difficult to attain. The cohort life table is said to be more
accurate than the static life table (Stiling, 2015) . With those concepts in mind, one would think
that the life tables being constructed in the experiment were cohort life tables. It would seem that
a cohort life table was being constructed because in the materials and methods section it was
stated that only individuals born from the year 1915 to 2015 would be included. This is ensuring
that the researchers had a range as to the year of births the population of interest had, this was to
make sure that they constituted a cohort.
 Life tables can also be used to construct survivorship curves. Survivorship curves show
the per capita rates of change in the population. It signifies the mortality or survivorship being
experienced by the individuals in different age classes. There are actually three kinds of
survivorship curves. Type 1 curves are portrayed by populations with low per capita mortality
for most of the life span but later on, high losses of the older individuals occur. This sounds
familiar because humans and most mammals display this kind of survivorship curve. Figure 2
shows that characteristic of type 1 curve would be having a constant rate of change first then it
slowly goes down as age class increases or goes older. Type 2 curves are linear in shape so its
name is a misnomer because it’s not really a curve. This type implies constant per capita rate of
independent of age (Krebs, 2001) . It would mean that death has no choice for species
experiencing this kind of survivorship curve; all ages are prone to death. Organisms that usually
exhibit this kind of survivorship curve are birds. The type 3 survivorship curve is distinguished
by having a high per capita mortality early in life then followed by a period where death is lower
and mortality rate is almost constant. It looks a bit like the letter L. Organisms that usually show
this kind of curve are fishes, parasites, turtles, invertebrates and plants. In reality however,
organisms do not just conform to one of these three survivorship curves but their curves may
look like intermediate with one type and another. These curves also have a relationship with the
parental care the species has for their early young (Odum & Barrett, 2005) . The figure below
shows how the different survivorship curves look like.
 Fig. 9. Different survivorship curves

Mortality rate of organism are usually influenced by the environment which includes the
availability of resources, predators, natural calamities and diseases. For human population aside
from the factors mentioned above, there are more factors that would increase the risk of mortality
like lifestyle, culture, economical status, religion, belief system and other more factors.
According to news online, The Cebu City Health Department office in charge, Daisy Villa
accounted the leading causes of death for the year 2013. Based on her data coming from the
different public and private health hospitals in Cebu City she enumerated the following:

1. Cardiovascular disease - 984 deaths

2. Pneumonia – 877 deaths
3. Injury/trauma/wounds – 381
4. Pulmonary TB - 70
5. Medico-legal cases – 138
6. Decubitus ulcers – 87
7. Diabetes mellitus - 64

The factors of death that are mentioned above are usually caused by an unhealthy
lifestyle. An interview conducted by the researcher to a staff nurse in Velez Hospital named
Jester Anthony N. Dicdiquin RN to share his insights in the research somehow coincides with the
statement of Daisy Villa in the news. Mr.Dicdiquin mentioned that in the hospital the most
common causes of death are cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and also pneumonia. He
said that men in Cebu City are usually more prone to diseases due to their lifestyle.
LITERATURE CITED
Books
H. Arai, Y. Ouchi, M. Yokode et al., “Toward the realization of a better aged society:
messages from gerontology and geriatrics,” Geriatrics and Gerontology International, vol. 12, no.
1, pp. 16–22, 2012.

Perls, T. 2008. Why Do Women Live Longer Than Men?. New England Centenarian Study at
Boston University.

Krebs, C. 2001. Ecology 5th edition. New York: Benjamin Cummings.

Odum, E., & Barrett, G. 2005. Fundamentals of Ecology 5th Edition. Belmony: Thomas Brookes.

Internet
Mella, Z. (2013, May 19). What are the top 10 Leading Causes of Mortality in the Philippines?
Retrieved January 20, 2015, from
http://publichealthresources.blogspot.com/2013/05/what-are-top-10-leading-causes
of.html
Melone, L. (2015, August 14). 11 reasons men die sooner than women. Retrieved January 20,
2015, from http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/11-reasons-men-die-sooner-than
women/ss-AA2gR0x#image=13

Philippines Death Rate.2015. Retrieved from Indexmundi:

http://www.indexmundi.com/philippines/age_structure.html

What disease is the leading cause of death in Cebu City in 2013? .(2014, February 15). Retrieved
January 20, 2015, from http://www.interaksyon.com/article/80790/what-disease-is-the
leading-cause-of-death-in-cebu-city-in-2013