Life expectancy, adult mortality and completeness of death counts in Brazil and regions: comparative analysis of IHME, IBGE and other researchers estimates of levels and trends

Abstract

Estimates of completeness of death registration are crucial to produce estimates of life tables, population projections and to the global burden of diseases study. They are an imperative step in quality of data analysis. In the case of state level data in Brazil, it is important to consider spatial and temporal variation in the quality of mortality data. In this paper, we compare and discuss alternative estimates of completeness of death registration, adult mortality (45q15) and life expectancy estimates produced by the National Statistics Office (IBGE), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and estimates presented in Queiroz, et.al (2017) and Schmertmann and Gonzaga (2018), for 1980 and 2010. We find significant differences in estimates that affect both levels and trends of completeness of adult mortality in Brazil and states. IHME and Queiroz, et.al (2017) estimates converge in 2010, but there are large differences when compared to estimates from the National Statistics Office (IBGE). Larger differences are observed for less developed states.