Standardised mortality ratio (SMR)
Last reviewed 01/2018
- Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) are also an indirect method of age
standardisation
- age-specific death rates in a standard population are applied to the age structure of the occupation group being considered to calculate an expected number of deaths in that occupation group
- the ratio of the observed number of deaths to the expected number of deaths in the group is calculated and multiplied by 100 to give the SMR. An SMR under or over 100 indicates lower or higher mortality in the occupation group compared with the general population.