Trends in diagnosis-specific mortality for the aging population in Norway, 1966-1986

For the older segment of the Norwegian population, sex, age at time of death, and time-period of death are important factors to consider when describing cause-specific mortality trends. Correspondence analysis was applied to mortality and provided plots which in a conceptually simple way demonstrated the complex relations between sex, age, time-periods and causes of death. Log-linear modelling was used to confirm the findings of the correspondence analyses. During the period of observation, the elderly, regardless of sex, have experienced greater changes in the most important causes of death, than the younger segments of the population. The main intention of this article is to improve the conceptual understanding of how important parameters are associated with trends in mortality rates for the major causes of death in Norway.