Abstract
ObjectivesUnder the prevailing conditions of imbalanced life table and historic gender discrimination in India, our study examines crossover between life expectancies at ages zero, one and five years for India and quantifies the relative share of infant and under-five mortality towards this crossover.MethodsWe estimate threshold levels of infant and under-five mortality required for crossover using age specific death rates during 1981–2009 for 16 Indian states by sex (comprising of India’s 90% population in 2011). Kitagawa decomposition equations were used to analyse relative share of infant and under-five mortality towards crossover.FindingsIndia experienced crossover between life expectancies at ages zero and five in 2004 for menand in 2009 for women; eleven and nine Indian states have experienced this crossover for men and women, respectively. Men usually experienced crossover four years earlier than the women. Improvements in mortality below ages five have mostly contributed towards this crossover. Life expectancy at age one exceeds that at age zero for both men and women in India except for Kerala (the only state to experience this crossover in 2000 for men and 1999 for women).ConclusionsFor India, using life expectancy at age zero and under-five mortality rate together may be more meaningful to measure overall health of its people until the crossover. Delayed crossover for women, despite higher life expectancy at birth than for men reiterates that Indian women are still disadvantaged and hence use of life expectancies at ages zero, one and five become important for India. Greater programmatic efforts to control leading causes of death during the first month and 1–59 months in high child mortality areas can help India to attain this crossover early.
Highlights
Understanding the dynamics of human life and identification of vital processes that help prolong human longevity
This study is based on publically available secondary data, borrowed from the annual report of Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report, published by Office of the Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi
Methodology used in this paper to estimate threshold level of infant and under-five mortality required for crossover, constructing life tables and decomposing the change in the gap between life expectancies at ages zero and one and life expectancies at age zero and five is discussed below
Summary
Understanding the dynamics of human life and identification of vital processes that help prolong human longevity In 2012, estimated life expectancy at age zero for Indian men was 65 years and for Indian women was 68 years [4, 5]. Until 1980, compared to men, women in India were disadvantaged with regard to life expectancy at age zero [10, 11]. For the first time, during 1981–85 life expectancy at age zero for Indian women exceeded that of men [12]. There is a need to explore alternative indicators of mortality in addition to commonly used indicators such as life expectancy at age zero, mortality during infancy and early childhood to better understand the overall well-being of the population
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