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Name:____________________________ Date:___________________

History 3797, Miniproject: due: Jan 26

The life table: Sweden, Trinidad, the USA and the Longevity game

Please jot numeric answers below; answer discussion questions (“f”) on back or separate sheet.

1. Compare the female life table for Sweden in 1751 (attached) with the upper bound for Trinidad Slave women, 1813-1816 (attached).

survivors (lx) to exact age x, life expectancy (additional years)

: Sweden Trinidad Sweden Trinidad

a. birth (0) 100,000 100,000 38.4 20.6

b. age 1: _________ _______ _________ __________

c. age 15: _________ _______ _________ __________

d. age 65: _________ _______ _________ __________

e. your age ___: ________ _______ _________ __________

f. Compare and contrast life expectancy and the pattern of dying by age in these populations. At what ages are there the biggest absolute and relative differences in life expectancy? …and survivorship? Note answers on the back of this sheet or a separate page.

2. Visit the mortality database website at the University of California Berkeley. You must first register to use the database. Then, click “Human Lifetable Database”, “Data by Country”, “USA”, “1901-1999” (produced by the Social Security Administration) and view the abridged life table (“Type LT “4”) for females (Sex “2”) for the USA for the following:

survivors (lx) to exact age x, life expectancy (additional years)

: USA 1901 USA 1999 USA 1901 USA 1999

a. birth (0) 100,000 100,000 50.87 79.22

b. age 1: _________ _______ _________ __________

c. age 15: _________ _______ _________ __________

d. age 65: _________ _______ _________ __________

e. your age ____ using “Type LT 3” (“1 x 1 tables”) and sex ___ insert numbers:

_________ _______ _________ __________

f. On the back of this sheet or separate page, briefly discuss the secular change in life expectancy and mortality by age and sex in the USA over the twentieth century.

3. Longevity game. Point your browser to the Northwestern Mutual web site: click "play the game" and fill in the form with your age, height, etc. (According to the web-site, your privacy is assured because everything is anonymous.)

a. ____ Enter your details and note your life expectancy in years.

b. ____ Now, watch the tabulator (upper left) as you simulate a life change. What change would yield the largest increase in life expectancy for you? Make a mental note of what causes the greatest change; report the change in years here.

c. ____ What would your life expectancy be if you had high blood pressure and smoked or had elevated cholesterol?

d. ____ What change would yield the largest decrease in life expectancy? Make a mental note of the cause, and report the change in years here.

e. Discuss how your life expectancy (3a) compares with the answer in 2e for 1999.

f. By comparing answers in 3a-3d with 2f, what have you learned about mortality risks?

Thanks for playing the longevity game!

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