Abstract
BackgroundIn the 12th Five-Year Plan, the Chinese government set the goal of increasing life expectancy by one year. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of major causes of death on the life expectancy of the Chinese people between 1950 and 2010 and predict changing trends to identify major issues requiring future attention.MethodsA continuous database organised by population and death data on diseases by age group between 1950 and 2010 were created from A Province in Eastern China. The diseases were classified into four categories by the International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10): infectious and parasitic diseases, chronic diseases, accidental injuries, and maternal diseases. Potential gains in life expectancy (PGLEs) were applied to reflect the impact on life expectancy caused by deaths from various diseases, by using the cause-eliminated life table.ResultsThe PGLEs of infectious and parasitic diseases decreased from 15.59 years in 1950, to 0.07 year in 2010, and have remained low since 2000. However, the PGLEs of chronic diseases increased from 8.70 years in 1950, to 13.36 years in 2010, and indicated an increasing future trend. The two opposite trends exhibited a ‘scissors-like difference’. The proportion of accidental injuries and maternal diseases in the death spectrum was low. The PGLEs of accidental injuries decreased from 2.95 years in 1950, to 0.86 year in 2010, maintaining a low level, while the PGLEs of maternal diseases dropped from 0.56 to 0.002 year during the same period, approaching zero.ConclusionsThe findings of this study provide useful information, which could contribute to a more effective allocation of public health programmes. In recent years, chronic diseases and accidental injuries have emerged as major factors influencing life expectancy. Primary and secondary prevention actions, such as public education, modification of behaviours, and introduction of safety measures should be emphasised in efforts to promote life expectancy. The morbidity and mortality rates of infectious, parasitic, and maternal diseases should be maintained at low levels.
Highlights
In the 12th Five-Year Plan, the Chinese government set the goal of increasing life expectancy by one year
Chronic diseases and accidental injuries have emerged as major factors influencing life expectancy
Primary and secondary prevention actions, such as public education, modification of behaviours, and introduction of safety measures should be emphasised in efforts to promote life expectancy
Summary
In the 12th Five-Year Plan, the Chinese government set the goal of increasing life expectancy by one year. Life expectancy provides an estimate of the average expected life span under certain conditions, based on current mortality It is one of three comprehensive indicators reflecting an individual’s health, social and economic status, and quality of life [1]. The Fourth National Health Services Survey of China [5] reported that the morbidity rate of chronic diseases was 19.99% in 2008, indicating an increase of 10 million new cases on average, every year during the past decade, while the morbidity rate of infectious diseases dropped to 0.27%. China’s disease and death spectrum places chronic diseases as the major cause of death, with some of the major infectious diseases continuing to threaten people’s health [6,7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
