Sensitivity of death certificate data for monitoring diabetes mortality--diabetic eye disease follow-up study, 1985-1990.

Although death certificates are a primary source of data for characterizing mortality patterns in the United States, the underreporting of diabetes as a cause of death limit the use of death certificates for monitoring diabetes mortality. To determine whether diabetes was underreported on the death certificates of patients with known diabetic eye disease, CDC analyzed data from death certificates for persons identified as deceased by the Diabetic Eye Disease Follow-Up Study (DEDFUS).