Objectives: To evaluate the reliability of cause-specific mortality rate
statistics.
Study design: The underlying causes of death among different demographic groups in
a territorial unit of Lithuania were verified and the data were compared with the
corresponding official statistics.
Methods: Community-based autopsy and expert analysis of medical records.
Results: The study contingent consisted of 1474 permanent residents aged 0–101
years [809 (54.9%) males and 665 (45.1%) females] who had died in hospital (nZ546,
37%) and out of hospital (nZ928, 63%) in 1989–1991. The underlying cause of death
was verified in 98.6% of cases by full autopsy (69.9%) and expert analysis of medical
records (28.7%). Circulatory system diseases were found to be implicated in 44.4% of
all deaths (35.9% of males and 54.7% of females), malignant neoplasms were the
cause of 19.4% of deaths (21.5 and 16.8%, respectively) and external causes were
responsible for 19.4% of deaths (27.3 and 9.8%, respectively). Cause-specific
mortality rates were sex and age dependent.
Conclusions: The proportion of circulatory system diseases in the cause-specific
mortality structure was found to be significantly lower, and that of external causes
(injury and poisoning) was found to be higher than the corresponding proportions
presented by official Lithuanian statistics. Verified cardiovascular death rates
corresponded with those in the European Union as a whole.