Mindanao State University

College of Medicine
Family Medicine

Health Indices: Part 1 & 2

Manuscript

Kriztoffer Kharl D. Banawa

Group 3 Medical Clerk
Class of 2023

July 15, 2022

 Measures of Disease Frequency
Prevalence vs. Incidence
 Prevalence - Measures existing cases of a disease at a particular point in time or
over a period of time
 Incidence - Measures new cases of a disease that develop over a period of time.
Two types of Prevalence
 Point prevalence - Measures existing cases of a disease at a particular point in
time. For example, the number of cases of COVID 19 today or some date like
January 1, 2022
 Period prevalence - Measures existing cases of a disease at a time interval or
period. For example, the number of cases of COVID 19 in 2021 or the disease
cases last month.
Two Types of Incidence
 Cumulative incidence - the proportion of a population at risk that becomes
diseased over a specified period of time
 Incidence rate - occurrence of new cases of disease that arise during person-
time of observation

Vital Statistical Rates and Ratios

Natality Rates
Natality measures are population-based measures of birth. These measures are
used primarily by persons working in the field of maternal and child health. (CDC, 2006)
 Crude Birth Rate
o The number of live births in a given year per 1,000 people alive at the
middle of that year.
o Called crude because the total population is represented
  General Fertility Rate
o It is the number of live births per 1,000 women aged 15-49 in a given year.
o Covers most of the female reproductive years and thus represents the
population at greatest risk of giving birth.

Fertility Rates
The number of live births per 1,000 women of reproductive age (ages 15 to 49
years) per year.
 Crude Birth Rate
o The number of live births in a given year per 1,000 people alive at the
middle of that year.
o Called crude because the total population is represented
 General Fertility Rate
o It is the number of live births per 1,000 women aged 15-49 in a given year.
o Covers most of the female reproductive years and thus represents the
population at greatest risk of giving birth.
 Age-specific Fertility Rates
o The number of births to women of a given age group per 1,000 women in
that age group.
 Total Fertility Rate
o Directly calculated as the sum of age-specific fertility rates (usually
referring to women aged 15 to 49 years), or five times the sum if data are
given in five-year age groups. (WHO)

 Gross Reproduction Rate

o The average number of daughters that would be born alive to a
hypothetical cohort of women if they lived to the end of their reproductive
years and if they experienced the same age-specific fertility throughout
their lives that women in each age group experience in a given year or

period of years.
Mortality Rates
Measure of the frequency of occurrence of death in a defined population during a
specified interval (CDC).

 Crude Death Rate

o The ratio of the number of deaths occurring within one year to the mid-
year population expressed per 1,000 population (PSA)
o Does not take into account the variations in risks of dying at particular

ages

 Age-specific Mortality Rates

o A mortality rate limited to a particular age group.
 Cause-specific Mortality Rates
The number of deaths assigned to a specific cause in a calendar year.

Example: 137 homicide deaths in New Mexico during 2006. 2,010,787 -

estimated 2006 mid-year population.

 Mortality
Rates in Children
o Infant, Neonatal and Post-neonatal MR
 o Perinatal Mortality Rate - Perinatal mortality is defined as the number of
fetal deaths past 22 completed weeks of pregnancy plus the number of
deaths among live-born children up to 7 completed days of life, per 1000
total births.

o Child Mortality Rate - The probability of dying between birth and age five,
expressed as the number of deaths below age five per 1,000 live births

during a given period.

 Maternal Mortality Rates

o Direct MMR - Deaths resulting from obstetric complications of the
pregnant state and from interventions, omissions, incorrect treatment, or
from a chain of events resulting from any of the above

o Indirect MMR - Deaths resulting from previous existing disease or

disease that developed during pregnancy and not due to direct obstetric
causes but were aggravated by the physiologic effects of pregnancy

 Proportionate Mortality Rate

 o Proportionate mortality describes the proportion of deaths in a specified
population over a period of time attributable to different causes.
o Each cause is expressed as a percentage of all deaths, and the sum of
the causes must add to 100%

 Case Fatality Rate

o Proportion of people who die from a specified disease among all
individuals diagnosed with the disease over a certain period of time
o Used as a measure of disease severity and is often used for prognosis

Example: 3,723,014 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines and a total

of 60,640 has died of COVID-19 in the Philippines since Jan 2020.

 Swaroop’s Index
o Represents the proportion of deaths among people aged 50 years and
over for every 100 total deaths
o A higher value indicates a better health situation.
References:
● OECD (2022), Fertility rates (indicator). doi: 10.1787/8272fb01-en
● Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online
database] Atlanta; National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. [cited 2006
Feb 1].
● Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health, United States, 2004.
Hyattsville, MD.; 2004.
● Wise RP, Livengood JR, Berkelman RL, Goodman RA. Methodologic alternatives
for measuring premature mortality. Am J Prev Med 1988;4:268–273.
● Philippines: WHO Coronavirus Disease (2022) retrieved:
https://covid19.who.int/region/wpro/country/ph
● Harrington, Rebecca A.. "case fatality rate". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 May.
2020, https://www.britannica.com/science/case-fatality-rate. Accessed 15 July
2022.
● WHO (2022) Mortality and burden of disease retrieved:
https://www.who.int/data/gho/indicator-metadata-registry/imr-details/4622
● Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice, Third Edition. An
Introduction to Applied Epidemiology and Biostatistics
● Swaroop, S. & Uemura, K. (1957). Proportional mortality of 50 years and above.
Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 17 (3), 439 - 481.