How Age Influences the Demand for Health Care in Latin America
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Health Needs and Mortality Trends in LAC Mortality is an important component of the BOD study. The World Health Organization mortality data estimations for 2004 were improved over previous BOD data, especially for causes more difficult to measure, such as communicable diseases and injuries. Data on mortality were also improved due to better estimations of mortality for children under age 5 and to the review of models used to estimate coverage of death registrations in all countries. The weight of mortality in the BOD study varies according to development level. The development process, associated with the progress in health systems coverage and quality, brings longer and more productive lives to the entire population. In this context, the weight of mortality is reduced and the weight of morbidity (YLD) in the BOD grows. Data from 2004 show that in high-income countries, the mortality component of the DALYs (YLL) accounted for only 55 percent of the BOD, but in the poorest region of the world—Sub-Saharan Africa—the mortality component was substantially higher (85 percent). The weight of mortality in the BOD in LAC was 59 percent in 2004, which is closer to the YLL participation in the BOD found in developed countries. Figure 4.2 shows the YLL as a share of the BOD in the LAC region by age and gender in 2004. The participation of the YLL in the
Figure 4.2
Mortality as a Share of DALYs in LAC by Age and Gender, 2004
mortality as a share of DALY
0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0–4
5–14
15–29
30–34
45–59 age
men
women
Source: Author’s calculations based on World Health Organization 2008.
60–69
60–79
80+