Table 1.
List of symbols, definitions, and data used to compute the SMR for different cancer types and territorial levels of aggregation.
| Symbol | Definition | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Provinces/Municipality/regional level | ||
| SMR | Standardized Mortality Ratio | Calculated from Eq. (1) |
| °m | observed number of deaths by cause | ISTAT, personal communication |
| Em | number of expected deaths by cause | Calculated from Eq. (2) |
| ni | age-specific census data on population | ISTAT, data warehouse |
| Country level (i.e., Reference variable) | ||
| MRi | age-specific death rates by cause of reference population | Calculated from Eq. (3) |
| Mi | age-specific number of deaths by cause of reference population | ISTAT, data warehouse |
| Ni | age-specific census data on the reference population | ISTAT, data warehouse |
Capital letters are used for reference population variables whereas lower-case letters are for local variables (i.e. municipal, provincial and regional ones). Variables with the subscript “i” are age-specific.