[Gains in life expectancy at birth in Brazil after the year 2000: the impact of mortality variations by age and cause of death].

Life expectancy at birth is a synthetic mortality indicator that reflects the general living conditions of the population. Changes in mortality by age and causes of death generate no explicit changes in the indicator. The application of a decomposition method can bring light to the analysis of the phenomenon. The aim of this study was to estimate the contribution of age groups and causes of death in the variation in life expectancy at birth, for men and women, from 2000 to 2010, by applying Pollard's decomposition method. Brazilian life tables were obtained from IBGE and death data from SIM. The results indicate that the age group that most contributed to the increase in life expectancy was of less than 1 year old. Among the defined causes, cardiovascular diseases were responsible for the largest increase in life expectancy.