Kaufman J S, Asuzu M C, Rotimi C N, Johnson O O, Owoaje E E, Cooper R S
Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Loyola University Medical Center, IL 60153, USA.
Bull World Health Organ. 1997;75(5):389-95.
Information on cause of death among adults in sub-Saharan Africa is essentially nonexistent. Published sources provide statistics on both cause-specific and overall rates of mortality, but closer examination reveals that these data consist mostly of extrapolations and outright guesses. In the absence of accurate and comprehensive registries of vital events for the majority of the region's inhabitants, longitudinal studies of defined population-based cohorts represent the only realistic strategy to fill this void in basic public health information. The advantage of longitudinal studies is particularly clear for chronic diseases, the category for which the least is known. Noncommunicable diseases account for a significant portion of adult deaths in sub-Saharan Africa, yet the empirical bases for public health policies and interventions are essentially absent. Verbal autopsy has great potential to contribute to understanding about the cause of death among African adults. This method is discussed in the present article, and practical considerations for longitudinal studies using this methodology are reviewed.
撒哈拉以南非洲地区成年人的死因信息基本不存在。已发表的资料提供了特定病因和总体死亡率的统计数据，但仔细研究发现，这些数据大多是推断和纯粹的猜测。由于该地区大多数居民缺乏准确和全面的生命事件登记，对基于特定人群队列的纵向研究是填补基本公共卫生信息这一空白的唯一现实策略。纵向研究对于慢性病的优势尤为明显，因为对这一类别了解最少。非传染性疾病在撒哈拉以南非洲地区成年人死亡中占很大比例，但公共卫生政策和干预措施的实证依据基本不存在。口头尸检在了解非洲成年人死因方面有很大潜力。本文将讨论这种方法，并回顾使用该方法进行纵向研究的实际考虑因素。
