Crude and Standardized Death Rates

A problem with CDR is that it disregards the age structure of the population. For this reason, it is called crude. If people in an area are predominantly old, a high CDR is not as bad as in an area where the population is predominantly young. Thus, a CDR of 7 per 1000 population in the year 20010 in Sweden should not be construed to mean that the health status is nearly the same as in India, where also the CDR was nearly seven. The crude rate can be misleading. India had only 8 percent of the population of age 60 years or more whereas Sweden had 23 percent. Old people die anyway, and the CDR naturally becomes high. A valid comparison is obtained when the rate is recomputed by assuming same age structure in the two countries. This is one form or standardization. The other brings the agewise mortality pattern to a common base. Both require age-specific death rates.