Myunggu Jung1, Gizachew Balew Jembere2, Young Su Park3, William Muhwava4, Yeohee Choi5, Youngtae Cho6, Woorim Ko7. 1. Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, UK. 2. EngenderHealth-Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 3. Center for Arts and Humanities, Haverford College, Haverford, PA, USA. 4. African Centre for Statistics, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 5. Department of Social Welfare, Graduate School of Social Welfare, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea. 6. Institute of Environment and Health, Population Policy Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea. 7. Institute of Environment and Health, Population Policy Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea. reako@snu.ac.kr.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Ethiopia has experienced great improvements in life expectancy (LE) at birth over the last three decades. Despite consistent increases in LE for both males and females in Ethiopia, the country has simultaneously witnessed an increasing discrepancy in LE between males and females. METHODS: This study used Pollard's actuarial method of decomposing LE to compare age- and cause- specific contributions to changes in sex differences in LE between 1995 and 2015 in Ethiopia. RESULTS: Life expectancy at birth in Ethiopia increased for both males and females from 48.28 years and 50.12 years in 1995 to 65.59 years and 69.11 years in 2015, respectively. However, the sex differences in LE at birth also increased from 1.85 years in 1995 to 3.51 years in 2015. Decomposition analysis shows that the higher male mortality was consistently due to injuries and respiratory infections, which contributed to 1.57 out of 1.85 years in 1995 and 1.62 out of 3.51 years in 2015 of the sex differences in LE. Increased male mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) also contributed to the increased difference in LE between males and females over the period, accounting for 0.21 out of 1.85 years and 1.05 out of 3.51 years in 1995 and 2015, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: While injuries and respiratory infections causing male mortality were the most consistent causes of the sex differences in LE in Ethiopia, morality from NCDs is the main cause of the recent increasing differences in LE between males and females. However, unlike the higher exposure of males to death from injuries due to road traffic injuries or interpersonal violence, to what extent sex differences are caused by the higher male mortality compared to female mortality from respiratory infection diseases is unclear. Similarly, despite Ethiopia's weak social security system, an explanation for the increased sex differences after the age of 40 years due to either longer female LE or reduced male LE should be further investigated.
BACKGROUND: Ethiopia has experienced great improvements in life expectancy (LE) at birth over the last three decades. Despite consistent increases in LE for both males and females in Ethiopia, the country has simultaneously witnessed an increasing discrepancy in LE between males and females. METHODS: This study used Pollard's actuarial method of decomposing LE to compare age- and cause- specific contributions to changes in sex differences in LE between 1995 and 2015 in Ethiopia. RESULTS: Life expectancy at birth in Ethiopia increased for both males and females from 48.28 years and 50.12 years in 1995 to 65.59 years and 69.11 years in 2015, respectively. However, the sex differences in LE at birth also increased from 1.85 years in 1995 to 3.51 years in 2015. Decomposition analysis shows that the higher male mortality was consistently due to injuries and respiratory infections, which contributed to 1.57 out of 1.85 years in 1995 and 1.62 out of 3.51 years in 2015 of the sex differences in LE. Increased male mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) also contributed to the increased difference in LE between males and females over the period, accounting for 0.21 out of 1.85 years and 1.05 out of 3.51 years in 1995 and 2015, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: While injuries and respiratory infections causing male mortality were the most consistent causes of the sex differences in LE in Ethiopia, morality from NCDs is the main cause of the recent increasing differences in LE between males and females. However, unlike the higher exposure of males to death from injuries due to road traffic injuries or interpersonal violence, to what extent sex differences are caused by the higher male mortality compared to female mortality from respiratory infection diseases is unclear. Similarly, despite Ethiopia's weak social security system, an explanation for the increased sex differences after the age of 40 years due to either longer female LE or reduced male LE should be further investigated.