Mortality Graduation Chart Smoothing
Graduate a schedule of central death rates for charting by applying the symmetric 1-2-1 weighted moving average (weights one, two, one over four) across ages, holding the first and last observed values fixed and repeating for the requested number of passes.
Description
Graduate a schedule of central death rates for charting by applying the symmetric 1-2-1 weighted moving average (weights one, two, one over four) across ages, holding the first and last observed values fixed and repeating for the requested number of passes.
Graduate a schedule of central death rates for charting by applying the symmetric 1-2-1 weighted moving average (weights one, two, one over four) across ages, holding the first and last observed values fixed and repeating for the requested number of passes.1
When to use Mortality Graduation Chart Smoothing
Use this mortality or life-table method when age intervals, deaths, exposures, survivorship, and open-ended interval assumptions refer to the same population and period.
- m(x)
- Observed central death rates m(x) in age order.
- Passes
- How many times to apply the smoothing kernel.
How the method works
- Graduated
- Graduated central death rates of the same length.
Limitations and assumptions
Life-table results depend on age grouping, exposure quality, the treatment of the first and terminal intervals, and assumptions about deaths within each interval. Sparse deaths can make rates unstable.
Alternative or Complementary measures
Complement a summary mortality result with age-specific death rates, survivorship, and exposure counts. A complete life table is preferable when the question involves several ages or remaining life expectancy.
References
-
Life table — Wikipedia contributors
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