Life expectancy rates are an example of which category?

• A. Morbidity measurements
• B. Mortality-based measurements
• C. Health service outputs
• D. Risk factor prevalence

Answer: (B)

Life expectancy rates are mortality-based indicators because they come from death data and summarize how long people are expected to live under current mortality conditions. They’re calculated from age-specific death rates using life tables to estimate the average remaining years of life for a birth cohort (or someone at a given age). This focus on dying patterns distinguishes them from morbidity measurements, which track diseases or disabilities; health service outputs, which measure what healthcare is produced or delivered; and risk factor prevalence, which shows how common risk factors are in the population. Life expectancy provides a single, interpretable summary of overall mortality and is widely used to compare populations and track health progress over time.