ASMR stands for Age-Standardized Mortality Rate, a statistical measure that adjusts mortality rates to a standard age distribution, allowing fair comparisons between populations with different age structures.
Purpose
To remove the effect of differing age distributions between populations.
To enable comparisons of mortality across:
Countries or regions
Time periods
Demographic groups
Widely used in Global Burden of Disease (GBD) studies and public health surveillance.
Calculation
Weighted sum of age-specific mortality rates, using a standard population (e.g., WHO or GBD reference population).
Expressed as: deaths per 100,000 population (age-standardized)
Interpretation
A higher ASMR indicates a greater risk of death independent of population age structure.
A decline in ASMR over time reflects improved survival or effective prevention, not just demographic change.
Example
If Country A has an older population than Country B, its crude mortality rate may be higher.
ASMR adjusts for age, so we can compare the underlying risk of dying across countries or over time.
Applications
Global comparisons of disease-specific mortality (e.g., ICH, cardiovascular disease, cancer)