Rectangularization of the Survival Curve in The Netherlands: An Analysis of Underlying Causes of Death

This study analyzed the contribution of selected causes of death to rectangularization of the survival curve of Dutch men and women above age 60 in the 1980s, and determined why rectangularization took place in the 1980s but not in the 1970s. The contribution of causes of death was determined by means of a decomposition analysis, using mortality data by underlying cause of death, sex, and age from Statistics Netherlands. Our results show that mortality reductions from ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, and lung cancer (men only) and mortality increases from chronic obstructive p... Mehr ...