Adult Mortality in Latin America

Premature death in adulthood is an increasingly important public health issue in Latin America. This study examines the demographic and epidemiological trends underlying this development. It discusses the impact on adults of both infectious and non-communicable diseases.

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The adult population accounts for a rising proportion of premature deaths worldwide. Adult health issues have often been overshadowed by international concern to improve child survival. Yet, increasingly, developing countries need to confront many of the challenges and dilemmas in the health sector that are familiar to the Western world. At the same time, most continue to experience a heavy burden of mortality arising from widespread poverty, from the tropical environment, or from high levels of violence. This book considers major issues of public health importance for adults in Latin America. The interdisciplinary nature of mortality analyses, and, in particular, the complementary of demographic and epidemiological research is emphasized throughout. Following a review of the demographic trends shaping public health priorities in Latin America, the book considers the value and limits of the available data on adult deaths. Recent advances in methods for measuring adult mortality are explained. Next, the book examines the mortality transition and accompanying epidemiological transition in the region. The experience is compared with that of other parts of the world.
Beyond this point, investigations must become disease or condition specific if they are to inform health planning. Thus, the second half of the book discusses the impact on adults of several major infectious diseases and of non-communicable diseases, the reproductive health of women, and deaths from accidents and violence.