Analysis of the sensitivity of death certificates in 440 hospital deaths: a comparison with necropsy findings

Sington, James; Cottrell, Barry

doi:10.1136/jcp.55.7.499

Cited by 116 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Any bias was most likely nondifferential because completeness of the National Death Index is well validated (38). The accuracy of cause of death on death certificates remains equivocal (30,39). We reached similar conclusions when using all-cause mortality (the primary end point of interest) or breast cancer -specific mortality.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…Because the quality of cause of death information on death certificates has been questioned in at least one study (30), all-cause mortality was the main end point, and patients alive at the end of follow-up were censored. Analyses of breast cancer -specific mortality were also conducted, and participants who died of causes other than breast cancer were censored.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Oral Contraceptives and Survival in Breast Cancer Patients Aged 20 to 54 Years

Trivers¹,

Gammon²,

Abrahamson³

et al. 2007

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &Amp; Prevention

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Recent oral contraceptive (OC) use is associated with modestly higher breast cancer incidence among younger women, but its impact on survival is unclear. This study examined the relationship between OC use before breast cancer diagnosis and survival. A population-based sample of 1,264 women aged 20 to 54 years with a first primary invasive breast cancer during 1990 to 1992 were followed up for 8 to 10 years. OC and covariate data were obtained by interviews conducted shortly after diagnosis and from medial records. Allcause mortality was ascertained through the National Death Index (n = 292 deaths). Age-and incomeadjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated by Cox regression methods. All-cause mortality was not associated with ever use of OCs or duration of use. Compared with nonusers, mortality estimates were elevated among women who were using OCs at diagnosis or stopped use in the previous year (HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 0.95-2.61). The HR for use of high-dose estrogen pills within 5 years before diagnosis was double that of nonusers (HR, 2.39; 95% CI, 1.29-4.41) or, if the most recent pill included the progestin levonorgestrel, compared with nonusers (HR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.03-3.91). Because subgroup estimates were based on small numbers of OC users, these results should be cautiously interpreted. Overall, most aspects of OC use did not seem to influence survival, although there is limited evidence that OC use just before diagnosis, particularly use of some pill types, may negatively impact survival in breast cancer patients aged 20 to 54 years. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(9):1822 -7)

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oral Contraceptives and Survival in Breast Cancer Patients Aged 20 to 54 Years

Trivers¹,

Gammon²,

Abrahamson³

et al. 2007

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &Amp; Prevention

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show abstract

“…The validity of the cause of death registrations can be questioned because previous studies have found that subsequent autopsies revealed an incorrect registration of the cause of death on a relatively high proportion of death certificates [31][32][33][34]. This is, however, a problem for all studies relying on death certificates to determine the cause of death.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Causes of death among diabetic patients in Denmark

2011

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Aims/hypothesis To study the distribution of causes of death in the Danish population, and its variation by diabetes status, sex, age and calendar year as well as the years of life lost from the specific causes of death. Methods Persons aged 30-98 years were followed from 1995 to 2008 by linkage of Danish registers. Poisson regression was used to model cause-specific mortality rates by age and calendar time for each specific cause of death, according to sex and diabetes status. The mortality rates were also modelled as a function of age and birth cohort. We computed the distribution of causes of death and years of life lost from specific causes of death due to diabetes. Results During the 14-year study period, patients with diabetes contributed 2.3 million person-years of follow-up and 124,210 deaths, whereas persons without diabetes contributed 45.1 million person-years and 648,020 deaths. The mortality was higher among individuals with diabetes, and the mortality ratio (diabetes vs no diabetes) decreased with age and for all causes and cardiovascular diseases also by calendar time. The effect of sex on the association between diabetes and mortality varied with age and cause of death. About 9 years of life were lost to diabetes at age 30 years, and 3 years at age 70 years. Conclusions/interpretation Age-specific mortality is higher among people with diabetes, and rate ratios vary with age, sex, calendar period and cause of death. The distribution of causes of death was similar for persons with and without diabetes.

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“…Difficulties with diagnosis: Many of the studies that have reported excess ovarian cancer following asbestos exposure have examined mortality from ovarian cancer and used the cause of death as listed on the death certificate to identify the cause of death. The accuracy of death certificates has been questioned repeatedly (7,8), particularly in relation to asbestos-related diseases (9). Pleural mesothelioma has a long history of being misreported on death certificates most often being labeled as lung or pleural cancer (3,9,10).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Exposure to Asbestos Cause Ovarian Cancer? A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-analysis

Reid

Klerk

Musk

2011

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &Amp; Prevention

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Introduction: The asbestos and ovarian cancer relationship is not well understood because of small numbers of women exposed to asbestos, small numbers of cases, and misclassification of peritoneal mesothelioma as ovarian cancer on death certificates. The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis to quantify the evidence that exposure to asbestos causes ovarian cancer.Methods: Fourteen cohort and two case-control studies were identified in Medline searches from 1950 to 2008.Results: Statistically significant excess mortality was reported in four of the cohort studies, all of which determined their outcomes from the death certificate. Peritoneal mesotheliomas were reported in these studies, two of which reexamined pathology specimens and reported disease misclassification. Exposureresponse relationships were inconsistent. When all studies were included in a meta-analysis, the effect size was 1.75 (95% CI, 1.45-2.10) attenuating to 1.29 (95% CI, 0.97-1.73) in studies with confirmed ovarian cancers.Conclusion: Taken without further analysis, women thought to have ovarian cancer had an increased rate in the meta-analysis if reporting having been exposed to asbestos, compared with reference populations. This result may have occurred because of disease misclassification. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 20(7); 1287-95. Ó2011 AACR.

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Analysis of the sensitivity of death certificates in 440 hospital deaths: a comparison with necropsy findings

Abstract: There is a substantial discrepancy between the diagnosis given on death certificates compared with that at hospital necropsy. This paper discusses the importance of clinicopathological concordance and emphasises the importance of the necropsy in death certification.

Cited by 116 publications

References 14 publications

Oral Contraceptives and Survival in Breast Cancer Patients Aged 20 to 54 Years

Oral Contraceptives and Survival in Breast Cancer Patients Aged 20 to 54 Years

Causes of death among diabetic patients in Denmark

Does Exposure to Asbestos Cause Ovarian Cancer? A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-analysis

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