Introduction
Life tables are an essential tool in the demographer's toolbox. They are primarily used in the analysis of mortality and, among many uses, are the device from which life expectancy is calculated. They also play an important part in population projection.
But they have a much wider application than mortality alone and are a particular form of survival analysis. As such the technique can be applied to any data which comes in the form of varying durations of time between a definable start point and end point.
This session deals with life tables as a form of survival analysis, which is equally interesting and relevant to epidemiologists and statisticians. The next session will deal with the more specialist and demographic extensions of life tables - the parts which extend to calculation of life expectancy.
The classical demographic life table is typically of mortality and has some traditional notation and ways of working associated with it. These can be confusing and appear fussy but demographers need to know this approach. However one should always keep in mind that the process can just as easily be applied to other survival analyses and is computerised in all good quality statistical programs in forms which have no special notation but are nevertheless life tables in another guise.