[Evaluation of vital statistics for the study of causes of death in Latin America].

"The present article attempts to take a deeper look at the most relevant aspects of the problems presented by the data on adult mortality and causes of death in Latin America.... Statistical coverage of registered deaths by age and sex is analysed, finding important differences among the countries and higher coverage in the registration of adult deaths than of younger ones.... Data quality on causes of death...showed some improvement during the period studied.... Reference is made to topics related to the analysis of causes of death [that] generally complicate the work, such as the heterogeneity of coverage and data quality at subnational levels, the compatibility among different revisions of the ICD, the use of ill-defined causes and, finally, access and management of basic information." (SUMMARY IN ENG)