Age-adjusted Rates for Comparing the Risk of Female Breast Cancer

Epidemiology Discussion 4
Student Full Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Full Title
Instructor Full Name
Due Date
Epidemiology Discussion 4
The crude rate of female breast cancer rates among geographic areas and racial groups is usually calculated without any restriction (such as by age or sex) on who is counted in the numerator or denominator. These rates are limited if the researcher compares them between geographic areas and racial groups or over time because of possible confounding influences like differences in the age distribution between groups (Merrill, 2021). Age-adjusted rates are more appropriate for comparing the risk of female breast cancer among geographic areas and racial groups because they control the confounding influence of age differences on the health event rate. When comparing geographic areas or racial groups, age-adjusting is necessary to check the effect of various population age distributions on female breast cancer rates (Laden et al., 1997). Crude rates are helpful for summary purposes, but th...