Volume 13 - Article 15 | Pages 363–388  

The effects of war losses on mortality estimates for Italy: A first attempt

By Dana Glei, Silvia Bruzzone, Graziella Caselli

This article is part of the Special Collection 4 „Human Mortality over Age, Time, Sex, and Place: The 1^st HMD Symposium“

Abstract

For countries that experience substantial war losses in a given time period, the exclusion of military deaths can have an important impact on estimates of mortality and life expectancy. In this paper, we start by reviewing Vallin’s work in accounting for French war losses. We then attempt to apply comparable methods to Italy in order to account for the effects of war. The results indicate that estimates currently available from the Human Mortality Database (HMD) greatly underestimate period mortality during wartime among all Italian males, and may even underestimate mortality among civilian males. Finally, we discuss how failing to account for war mortality presents problems in making inter-country mortality comparisons.

Author’s Affiliation

• Dana Glei - Georgetown University, United States of America EMAIL
• Silvia Bruzzone - Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT), Italy EMAIL
• Graziella Caselli - Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Italy EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

Ageing and diversity: Inequalities in longevity and health in low-mortality countries
Volume 50 - Article 12

Mexican mortality 1990‒2016: Comparison of unadjusted and adjusted estimates
Volume 44 - Article 30

Costa Rican mortality 1950‒2013: An evaluation of data quality and trends compared with other countries
Volume 40 - Article 29

Demographic characteristics of Sardinian centenarian genealogies: Preliminary results of the AKeA2 study
Volume 32 - Article 37

Maternal longevity is associated with lower infant mortality
Volume 31 - Article 42

Self-Reported Versus Performance-Based Measures of Physical Function: Prognostic Value for Survival
Volume 30 - Article 7

Survival differences among the oldest old in Sardinia: who, what, where, and why?
Volume 14 - Article 13

Introduction to the Special Collection “Human Mortality over Age, Time, Sex, and Place: The 1st HMD Symposium”
Volume 13 - Article 10

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

Can we estimate crisis death tolls by subtracting total population estimates? A critical review and appraisal
Volume 52 - Article 23    | Keywords: conflict demography, death tolls, demographic methods, historical demography, mortality, mortality crises, mortality estimates, population balance

Life expectancy by religious affiliation in Finland 1972–2020
Volume 52 - Article 17    | Keywords: Finland, life expectancy, register data, religious affiliation

The use of mobile phone surveys for rapid mortality monitoring: A national study in Burkina Faso
Volume 52 - Article 16    | Keywords: age-specific mortality patterns, data quality, Demographic Health Surveys, direct estimation, health and security crises, low-and-middle-income countries, mobile phones, mortality, sample selection, surveys, under-five mortality

Interrogating the quality and completion of mortality mobile phone interviews conducted in Malawi during COVID-19: An examination of interviewer–respondent interactions
Volume 51 - Article 46    | Keywords: audio-recording, LMICs, Malawi, mobile phone survey, mortality, RaMMPS

Excess mortality associated with HIV: Survey estimates from the PHIA project
Volume 51 - Article 38    | Keywords: excess mortality, HIV/AIDS, mortality