Fife D
New Jersey Dept. of Health, Trenton 08625.
Am J Epidemiol. 1987 Nov;126(5):936-41. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114731.
Injury related to a death may be recorded on the death certificate as the underlying cause of death or as a condition associated with death but not causing it. The present study uses the National Center for Health Statistics Multiple Cause of Death data for 1978 to determine the percentage of injury-related deaths for which injury was identified as the underlying cause of death and the variation of this percentage with age at death. Injury was identified as the underlying cause of death in 86% of all cases with injury recorded on the death certificate. The percentage with injury identified as the underlying cause varied with age: 93% for those in the first year of life, 97% for those aged 1-44 years, 87% for those aged 55-64, and 50% for those aged 75 or older. The percentage with injury identified as the underlying cause also varied by cause of injury. In all age groups, assault, suicide, and motor vehicle accidents were identified as the underlying cause of death in more than 90% of the cases in which they were mentioned. Causes other than motor vehicle accidents, assaults, and suicides, especially when occurring in the elderly, were less likely to be identified as the underlying cause of death. Cause of death tabulations based only on the underlying cause of death selectively underestimate the role of injury in the deaths of the elderly.
与死亡相关的损伤可能会在死亡证明上被记录为根本死因，或者作为与死亡相关但并非导致死亡的情况。本研究使用了国家卫生统计中心1978年的多死因数据，以确定被认定为根本死因的与损伤相关的死亡比例，以及该比例随死亡年龄的变化情况。在死亡证明上记录有损伤的所有病例中，86%的病例损伤被认定为根本死因。被认定为根本死因的损伤比例随年龄而异：1岁以内的人群中这一比例为93%，1至44岁的人群中为97%，55至64岁的人群中为87%，75岁及以上的人群中为50%。被认定为根本死因的损伤比例也因损伤原因而异。在所有年龄组中，在提及袭击、自杀和机动车事故的病例中，超过90%的病例这些情况被认定为根本死因。除机动车事故、袭击和自杀之外的其他原因，尤其是在老年人中发生时，被认定为根本死因的可能性较小。仅基于根本死因的死亡原因列表会选择性地低估损伤在老年人死亡中的作用。
