Age-adjustment and related epidemiology rates in education and research

A quick review of introductory textbooks reveals that while gerontology authors and instructors introduce some aspect of demography and epidemiology data, there is limited focus on age adjustment or other important epidemiology rates. The goal of this paper is to reintroduce a variety of basic epidemiology strategies such as incidence, prevalence, crude, age-specific and age-adjustment rates into the gerontology classroom. Background information and formulas for each rate, as well as examples of how they can be applied are provided. A recent change, encouraged by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, from a 1940 to a 2000 "standard million population" for ageadjusted rates, is reviewed. Finally, a teaching module with answers is provided for use in the gerontology classroom.