Continuing the Search for a Law of Mortality
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4121000 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bruce A Carnes, Jay Olshansky (0000-0001-6956-5518), S Jay Olshansky, Douglas Grahn |
| Year | 1996 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 231 |
| Publication date | 1996-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Population and Development Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0098-7921 • E-ISSN: 1728-4457 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2137434 |
| OpenAlex | W2083013400 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 23 |
| References cited | 16 |
Scientists have long attempted to explain why closely similar age patterns of death are characteristic of highly diverse human and nonhuman populations. Historical efforts to identify a general "law of mortality" from these patterns that applied across species ended in 1935 when it was declared that such a law did not exist. These early efforts were conducted using mortality curves based on all causes of death. The authors predict that if comparisons of mortality are based instead on "intrinsic" causes of death (i.e., deaths that reflect the basic biology of the organism), then age patterns of mortality consistent with the historical concept of a law might be revealed. Using data on laboratory animals and humans, they demonstrate that age patterns of intrinsic mortality overlap when graphed on a biologically comparable time scale. These results are consistent with the existence of a law of mortality following sexual maturity, as originally asserted by Benjamin Gompertz and Raymond Pearl. The societal, medical, and research implications of such a law are discussed
Political science · Health and Conflict Studies · Health disparities and outcomes · Insurance, Mortality, Demography, Risk Management · Law
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Shaping human mortality patterns through intrinsic and extrinsic vitality processes
Sociodemographic Differentials in Adult Mortality
An Evolution-Based Model of Causation for Aging-Related Diseases and Intrinsic Mortality
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A reassessment of sexual dimorphism in human senescence
The Risk of a Mortality Catastrophe
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Mortality Increase in Late-Middle and Early-Old Age
Deceleration in the age pattern of mortality at olderages
Reconsidering Mortality Compression and Deceleration
A Unified Model of Cohort Mortality
Ever since gompertz
Age Trajectories of Mortality from All Diseases in Five Countries of Central Europe During the Last Decades
Genealogical data and the biodemography of human longevity
Biodemography
Trends in senescent life expectancy
A Biodemographic Interpretation of Life Span
A Realist View of Aging, Mortality, and Future Longevity
How Long Will We Live
Longevity in the twenty-first century
Comparative mortality levels among selected species of captive animals
The Methods and Materials of Demography
Pleiotropy, Natural Selection, and the Evolution of Senescence
Aging, Natural Death, and the Compression of Morbidity
In Search of Methuselah
XXIV. On the nature of the function expressive of the law of human mortality, and on a new mode of determining the value of life contingencies. In a letter to Francis Baily, Esq. F. R. S. &c
The age pattern of mortality
Evolution of senescence
Causes of death and the components of mortality
Trading Off Longer Life for Worsening Health
Is early natural menopause a biologic marker of health and aging
The Biodemography of Variation in Human Frailty
A Relational Model of Mortality at Older Ages in Low Mortality Countries
Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Senescence
Demographic Perspectives on Human Senescence
| Unique citing works | 23 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,79 |
| Citation span | 1997 - 2022 (26) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 20 |