Age Pattern of Adult Mortality by Cause of Death in India

Recent evidences suggest increase in adult mortality due to increase in non-communicable diseases, change in life style and age-structural transition. Though adult mortality and hospitalization in India are showing increasing trend over years, little is known about its magnitude, differentials and the risk factors and deaths by cause. This paper aims to estimate the magnitude of adult deaths by age group, sex and cause of death in India. The data for this study has been taken from multiple sources; Sample Registration System (SRS), Census of India and Special Survey on Cause of Deaths (Million Death Study). Results indicate monotonic increase in adult and old age mortality over time and shift in concentration of deaths from early ages to adult ages. Similar pattern appear for the three selected states Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala which are in different phases of demographic transition, though the level is different. Result shows a shift in cause of death from communicable to non-communicable diseases which is consistent with the epidemiological transition occurred in India and need urgent policy attention.