NVSR 70-13. Evaluating the cause-of-death information needed for estimating the burden of injury mortality: United States, 2019

Objective. Data from death certificates are often used in research; however, little has been published on the processing of vague or incomplete information reported on certificates. The goal of this study was to examine the querying efforts in the United States used to clarify such records. Methods. The authors obtained data on the querying efforts of the 50 states, New York City, and the District of Columbia. Descriptive statistics are presented for two units of analysis: registration area and death record. Using data from a single registration area, Washington State, the authors compared the percent change in age-adjusted death rates for data from before and after querying to analyze the effect of querying on selected causes of death. Results. Fifty-one of the 52 registration areas queried either demographic or cause-of-death information. Almost 90% of queries were returned; the underlying cause of death changed in approximately 68% of these records. This data translates into about 3% of total U.S. death records, given that 4% of total U.S. death records were queried about cause of death. The impact of queries on age-adjusted death rates varied by cause of death. Generally, the effect is most obvious for cause-of-death categories that are specific and relatively homogenous. Conclusion. Querying continues to be widely practiced. In the case of cause-of-death queries, this method refines the assigned underlying cause of death for records reported with vague or incomplete information.

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A Review of Death Certificates Listing Lyme Disease as a Cause of Death in the United States

Clinical Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/cid/ciq157 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 52 (3) ◽

pp. 364-367 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

K. J. Kugeler ◽

K. S. Griffith ◽

L. H. Gould ◽

K. Kochanek ◽

M. J. Delorey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Lyme Disease ◽

Cause Of Death ◽

The United States ◽

Death Certificates

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New Insights on Excess Deaths and COVID-19

10.1101/2020.07.24.20051508 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Harry P Wetzler ◽

Herbert W Cobb

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Disease Control ◽

Cause Of Death ◽

Causes Of Death ◽

The United States ◽

Death Certificates ◽

Comorbid Conditions ◽

Control And Prevention ◽

Ongoing Assessment ◽

Excess Deaths

Background: Weinberger and colleagues estimated that 27,065 of the 122,300 excess deaths in the United States between March 1 and May 30, 2020 did not have a COVID-19 cause of death. Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) post weekly data on mortality for 13 causes of death from the most prevalent comorbid conditions reported on death certificates where COVID-19 was listed as a cause of death. The 2015-2019 data for weeks 10 through 22 were used to forecast the number of deaths from the 13 causes in the absence of COVID-19 during 2020. The forecast was subtracted from the observed number of deaths for each cause during the period March 1 to May 30, 2020. Results: The total of the differences for each of the 13 causes of death, 18,489 deaths, accounts for over two-thirds of the 27,065 excess deaths not due to COVID-19. Conclusion: Combining the 95,235 reported COVID-19 deaths with the 18,489 from the 13 most frequent comorbid conditions reported on death certificates where COVID-19 was a cause suggests that as many as 93% of the excess deaths were due to COVID-19 and implies that COVID-19 deaths were undercounted. Ongoing assessment of excess deaths and causes of death is needed to provide a better understanding of the pandemics dynamics.

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Mortality and quality of death certification in a cohort of patients with Parkinson’s disease and matched controls in North Wales, UK at 18 years: a community-based cohort study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018969 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. e018969 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Peter Hobson ◽

Jolyon Meara

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Cause Of Death ◽

Death Certificates ◽

Death Certification ◽

Community Based ◽

Risk Of Mortality ◽

North Wales ◽

Quality Of Death ◽

Underlying Cause Of Death

ObjectiveThis investigation reports the cause and the quality of death certification in a community cohort of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and controls at 18 years.SettingDenbighshire North Wales, UK.ParticipantsThe community-based cohorts consisted of 166 patients with PD and 102 matched controls.Primary outcomesAll-cause mortality was ascertained at 18 years by review of hospitals’ primary care records and examination of death certificates obtained from the UK General Register Office. Mortality HRs were estimated using Cox proportional regression, controlling for covariates including age at study entry, age at death, gender, motor function, mood, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and cognitive function.ResultsAfter 18 years, 158 (95%) of patients in the PD cohort and 34 (33%) in the control cohort had died. Compared with the general UK population, the PD cohort had a higher risk of mortality (standard mortality rate, 1.82, 95% CI 1.55 to 2.13). As the primary or underlying cause of death, PD was not reported in 75/158 (47%) of the death certificates. In addition, although 144/158 (91%) of the PD cohort had a diagnosis of dementia, this was reported in less than 10% of death certificates. The main cause of death reported in the PD cohort was pneumonia (53%), followed by cardiac-related deaths (21%). Compared with controls, patients with PD had a greater risk of pneumonia (2.03, 95% CI 1.34 to 3.6), poorer HRQoL and more likely to reside in institutional care at death (P<0.01).ConclusionThis investigation found that PD was associated with an excess risk of mortality compared with the general population. However, PD as a primary or underlying cause of death recorded on certificates was found to be suboptimal. This suggests that the quality of mortality statistics drawn from death certificates alone is not a valid or reliable source of data.

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