This is a real-world medical entrance exam question, please give the true answer based on the question and selection. Topic name: Demography and family planning, Subject name: Social & Preventive Medicine
Which of the following is the best to compare vital statistics of countries? 
Select and explain. 
A. Crude death and bih rates, B. Propoional moality rate, C. Age standardized death rate, D. Age specific death rate
C: Age standardized death rate
Answer: C: Age standardized death rate 
Explanation: If we want to compare the death rates of two populations with different age-composition, the crude death rate is not the right yardstick This is because rates are only comparable if the populations upon which they are based ae comparable.It is cumbersome to use a series of age-specific death rates, hence &;age standardization&; is used to remove the confounding effect of different age groups.Park 23epg: 59