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Vital Events Reference Tables 2008

Section 6: Deaths - Causes

Correction of error
We regret that, until 10 August 2010, over half of the figures in Table 6.13 appeared on the row below the correct one, due to a 'pasting' error. The first nine rows of the table and the final eight rows were correct: unfortunately, all the numbers in between them were on the wrong row. The figures have now been corrected, and we will change the layout of the table for 2010 onwards in order to reduce the likelihood of such an error occurring again. We apologise for any problems or inconvenience caused by our error.

Causes of death

Causes of death are coded in accordance with the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (Tenth Revision) (ICD10). Classification of underlying cause of death is based on information collected on the medical certificate of cause of death together with any additional information provided subsequently by the certifying doctor. Changes notified to the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) by Procurators Fiscal are also taken into account. In cases of homicide, suicide, and other deaths from violence, advice may be sought from the Crown Office. On 1 January 1996 GROS introduced an automated method of coding cause of death. A detailed note on this may be found in Appendix 1 of the Annual Report 1996.

The latest, tenth, revision (ICD10) has been used to code deaths in Scotland since 1 January 2000.

Cause lists used in these Reference Tables:

The full 3-character list (Table 6.4) shows all 3-character ICD10 codes for which at least one death was recorded during 2008.

The summary list (Table 6.1, Table 6.2 and Table 6.3) is closely based on a short list of 65 categories recommended by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The GROS list presents 66 categories, including sub-totals for all the main ICD10 Chapters. In the tables using this list, the sub-categories do not necessarily sum to the main groups. The one additional category identified in the GROS list is 'malignant neoplasm of the larynx'; this is combined with 'trachea, bronchus and lung' in the 65 category list.

Years of life lost (Table 6.13). Provides information on years of life lost for selected causes of death. Simply, the number of years of life lost is the sum of the differences between the age at death and 90 for 'total' years lost or 65 for years of 'working' life lost. Note that the age at death is taken to be the mid-point of a 5 year age band. The period of 'total' life lost is deemed to include all deaths up until the age of 90, so anyone dying at the age of 93 would contribute zero years to the total. The 'working' life period covers all ages between the ages of 15 and 64, and it is assumed that any death under the age of 15 contributes 50 years to the 'working' life lost total. For example someone dying at the age of 38 would contribute 28 years (37 (mid-point of 35-39 year age band) subtracted from 65) to the 'working life' lost total.

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