1. What is Proportionate Mortality Rate?

The Proportionate Mortality Rate (PMR) measures the proportion of deaths from a specific cause relative to total deaths in a population. It's particularly useful for assessing the impact of specific causes of death on life expectancy.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the PMR formula:

Where:

• \( Deaths_{cause} \) — Number of deaths from specific cause
• \( Total\ Deaths \) — Total number of deaths in population

Explanation: The equation calculates what percentage of total deaths are attributed to a specific cause, helping identify major contributors to mortality.

3. Importance of PMR Calculation

Details: PMR is crucial for public health planning, identifying priority areas for intervention, and assessing the relative importance of different causes of death in a population.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter the number of deaths from the specific cause and total deaths in the population. Both values must be valid (non-negative, cause deaths ≤ total deaths).

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What's the difference between PMR and mortality rate?
A: Mortality rate measures deaths per population size, while PMR measures the proportion of deaths from a specific cause among all deaths.

Q2: What are typical PMR values?
A: PMR varies by cause and population. In developed countries, cardiovascular diseases and cancer often have high PMRs (30-50%).

Q3: When is PMR particularly useful?
A: PMR is valuable when population data is incomplete but death records are available, or for comparing causes of death across populations.

Q4: What are limitations of PMR?
A: PMR doesn't indicate actual risk and can be misleading if total mortality changes dramatically (e.g., during pandemics).

Q5: How does PMR relate to life expectancy?
A: Causes with high PMR often represent key targets for life expectancy improvement, though the relationship depends on age at death.