Validity of cause of death statements from relatives.

In countries where death certificates are inaccessible for various reasons, cause of death statements made by relatives may gain greater importance. The validity of the cause of death of a deceased family member as stated by relatives compared to the underlying cause as stated on the death certificate has been examined in 310 cases. The sensitivity and the rate of confirmation are highest for neoplasms (both 89.6%). For cardiovascular diseases, the sensitivity (70%) is lower than the rate of confirmation (90%), indicating a certain amount of underreporting. The sensitivity is found to be lowest (50%) for diseases of the respiratory system. Violent deaths, on the other hand, were detected in 93.7%, although confirmed for only 75%. Closer relatives were able to report the cause of death more accurately. The time elapsed since the death of the family member, however, did not affect the recall of the relative. The concrete additional information from relatives, especially for cancer cases, is recommended in the absence of other data sources.