Age and time patterns of mortality by cause in Italy: A mortality surface approach

The aim of this paper is to present a new simple but powerful tool, namely the surface by age and time of leading causes of death, which may prove useful in the descriptive analysis of trends and profile changes in cause-specific mortality. First, considering the Italian mortality data by age and sex for large groups of causes of death, we review the epidemiological transition in Italy through the mortality surfaces of the first leading cause of death from 1895 to 1994. Second, focusing on recent years (1969-2001), we analyse the new mortality profiles through the surfaces of the first leading cause of death within the two groups of cardiovascular diseases and cancers. The approach followed in this study seems very promising. The resulting detailed picture of mortality dynamics can help to direct the public policy towards more suitable and prompt interventions, and can prove useful for teaching purposes.