Potential gain in life expectancy after eliminating specified cause of death in selected states of India: An analysis of MCCD data

Health is a good indicator of well-being of people of a country. Life expectancy has been used to represent the health aspect. Developed countries of the world have achieved considerable increase in life expectancy due to advancement in medical science. However, developing countries are still struggling hard to achieve the same level. Cause-elimination life tables focus on the hypothetical question - what would be a cohort’s mortality experience if a particular cause of death is eliminated. The objective of this study is to find out gain in life expectancy by age and sex after eliminating a specific cause of death. The study has used the Medical Certification of Cause of Death data of SRS, mid-year population provided by Technical Group on Population Projections for five selected states of India namely, Bihar, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Data are categorized into five causes of death. Initial results show that gain in life expectancy is higher for male when all selected causes of death except circulatory diseases are eliminated, which has higher gains in females. This technique is useful in finding out potential benefits of disease elimination and is an essential tool for health policymakers and planners to set-up priorities for intervention programmes.