Indirect standardisation (SMRs)
Indirect standardisation compares actual numbers of deaths with expected numbers, adjusting for age and sex to produce a ratio which is commonly called a standardised mortality ratio (SMR). The expected number of deaths is taken from the number of deaths in a larger reference population. For example, if the analysis is looking at death rates in wards, the reference population could be Avon or England and Wales. The SMR of the reference population is always 100, a value of lower than 100 means that fewer deaths than expected occurred in the local population after adjusting for differences in age and sex; more than 100 means that there have been more deaths than expected.
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