Association between Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol-related Events

UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY
92296 EPIDEMIOLOGY AND POPULATION HEALTH AUTUMN 2019
ASSESSMENT 2

Question 1 [17 marks]
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. In this question, you will examine deaths from
cancer in Australia and Argentina in 2013. The cancer deaths for both countries exclude non-
melanoma skin cancers.
1. Tables 1 and 2 give the number of deaths due to cancer in Australia in 2013 and
Argentina in 2013, respectively, and the estimated population by age group for each
year. Use this information to answer the following questions.
Table 1: Crude and age-specific death rates due to cancer, Australia, 2013
Age group
(years)
Deaths Total
Population
Death rate per
100,000 population
0-14 98 4,482,710 2.186
15-39 633 8,234,440 7.69
40-44 524 1,655,519 31.65
45-49 982 1,559,507 62.97
50-54 1,776 1,569,432 113.16
55-59 2,635 1,451,868 181.49
60-64 3,863 1,281,614 301.42
65-69 5,287 1,153,780 458.2
70-74 5,633 843,696 667.5
75+ 22,081 1,566,990 1409.4
TOTAL (all ages)* 43,512 23,799,556 182.8
Table 2: Crude and age-specific death rates due to cancer, Argentina 2013
Age group
(years)
Deaths Total
Population
Death rate per
100,000 population
0-14 388 10,939,513 3.55
15-39 2,333 16,642,359 7.769
40-44 1,293 2,693,223 74
45-49 1,993 2,359,742 84.46
50-54 3,379 2,192,512 154.11
55-59 5,101 2,031,042 251.15
60-64 6,874 1,815,418 378.65

65-69 7,965 1,513,164 526.38
70-74 8,124 1,173,119 692.5
75+ 22,546 2,057,673 1095.7
TOTAL (all ages)* 59,996 43,473,765 138
a) Calculate the crude death rates for Australia and Argentina. Interpret the rates. [2
marks]
From the tables:
Crude death rate for Australia=43512/23799556*100000
=183.16 @ 100000 persons per year
Crude death rate for Argentina=59996/43473765*100000
=138 @ 100000 persons per year
Crude death rate for Australia for Argentina is lower than that of Australia
Calculate the age-specific death rates to complete Tables 1 and 2. Give an example of your
working. [2 marks]
Age-specific death rates (0-14) age group in Argentina=388/10993513*100000=3.5 @
100000 people-years
b) Graph the age-specific death rates for Australia and Argentina using an appropriate
graph. Comment on the graph. [2 marks]

Oldest age-groups show higher age specific rates in Australia and relatively lower rates
for the younger population. The variations in the crude rates may be partly linked with
the variations in the age structure.
c) Use the data in Table 1 (including the information you have added) and your graph
from c) to describe the main features of cancer deaths in Australia in 2013. Include
relevant data from the completed table and graph to illustrate the points you make.
Age specific death rates increases with an increase in age with the highest rates
experienced in the 75+ age group where there are 1409 deaths per 100000 persons-years
for the case of Australia. The overall crude death rate is calculated to be 182.8 @
100000 persons-years