Estimates of survival and mortality from successive cross-sectional surveys

Survival ratios and death rates for chronic conditions can be estimated from successive, cross-sectional surveys when the condition and the age of onset are obtained. Survival ratios use the estimated population in the first survey period as the denominator and the estimated number of survivors at a later survey period as the numerator. These ratios have independent numerators and denominators and their variance estimates are a modification of the usual formulas. We illustrate the method by estimating annual death rates and their standard errors among diabetics in the United States.