Age adjustment
Age adjustment
Age adjustment (pronunciation: /ˈeɪdʒ əˈdʒʌstmənt/) is a statistical process applied to rates of disease, death, injuries or other health outcomes that allows communities with different age structures to be compared.
Etymology
The term "age adjustment" is derived from the English words "age", referring to the length of time that a person has lived or a thing has existed, and "adjustment", which refers to the process of altering or moving something slightly to achieve a desired fit, appearance, or result.
Definition
Age adjustment is used to make fairer comparisons between groups with different age distributions. For example, a county having a higher percentage of elderly people may have a higher rate of death or hospitalization than a county with a younger population, merely because the elderly are more likely to die or be hospitalized.
Method
The method of age adjustment can be direct or indirect. In Direct age adjustment, a standard age distribution is applied to each population being compared, and then the rates that would have occurred in each population if they had the same age distribution are calculated and compared. In Indirect age adjustment, the observed rates in each population are compared to what would have been expected if they had the same age-specific rates as a standard population.
Related terms
- Standard population: A population whose age distribution is used as a standard for age adjustment.
- Crude rate: A rate that has not been age adjusted.
- Age-specific rate: A rate limited to a particular age group. The numerator and denominator include only persons of a specific age or age group.
- Rate ratio: A comparison of two age-adjusted rates.
See also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Age adjustment
- Wikipedia's article - Age adjustment
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