Term: Cause of Death

Glossary Definition

Last Updated: 2020-02-19

Definition:

The reported cause of death on the Death Certificate (also known as the Medical Certificate of Death) from Vital Statistics. The Death Certificate used ICD-9 coding from 1979 until the end of 1999. As of January 1, 2000, ICD-10 coding is being used.

In Chateau et al., 2019. they reported on the top ten causes of death (percentages out of all deaths) in each time period, using the cause of death reported in the Vital Statistics mortality data.

In the Vital Statistics Mortality Registry Data the primary cause of death variable is used to identify cause of death.

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References