Causes of death - statistics

Recording of causes of death and interpretation of figures

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Interpretation of numbers

Statistics on causes of death are the primary source of information for the organization and evaluation of healthcare services. They are also the most accessible information when health problems are being examined. However, figures on causes of death must always be interpreted with caution due to differences in age structures and possible changes in the International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems (ICD-10), which are used in recording the causes of death from death certificates.

Writing of death certificates

Statistics on causes of death are based on death certificates, which specify the diseases, injuries and circumstances that have caused death. The Directorate of Health issues forms for death certificates. The law on death certificates can be found here, and the regulation here. The diagnosis of the causes of death and the writing of death certificates are in the hands of the physicians.

Recording of causes of death

When registered in the Causes of death register, each death certificate is carefully checked, registered and coded according to the current version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The physician shall then review cases of doubt and specific categories of cause of death. To further improve the registration process's quality and consistency, specialized software is also used to indicate where the official coding differs from the international regulations.

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Responsible party: Directorate of Health

Processor: Directorate of Health

Purpose: To collect information on causes of death in Iceland in one register, using international classification systems to code them consistently. The register can be used to monitor the incidence of deaths, monitor their development and compare with other countries.

Content: A registered cause of death, electronic as of 1971.

Period: Electronic registration of deaths began in 1971.

Source of data: Original death certificates are regularly received from the National Registry of Iceland.

Items to be recorded: Personal identification, causes of death, etc., are recorded according to a form for death certificates. All causes of death and contributory diseases have been coded by the International Classification of Diseases and Causes of Death, ICD-10, since its entry into force in 1996.

List of variables: Causes of Death Register - list of variables (Icelandic)

Comparable or related data sets: Comparable registers are maintained in all countries, and the World Health Organization collects worldwide data on causes of death.

Processing and publication: The causes of death figures are published on the Directorate of Health's web and sent to international databases.

History: A database for causes of death was created by the Directorate of Health in 2012. It contains electronic data from 1971. Data before 1971 are available in published statistical reports from Statistics Iceland.

Foreign comparison

Various international organizations undertake the collection and presentation of figures on causes of death. Iceland is a member of such a partnership and sends, among other things, annual data to the WHO Global Mortality Database. The statistics from this database are accessible in the European Mortality Database, which publishes the mortality rates of various pre-defined categories of cause of death each year. The WHO also publishes information on the causes of death within individual countries in an accessible interactive platform.

Service provider

Directorate of Health

Related material

Guidelines for writing death certificates

Suicide - statistics

Drug-related deaths - statistics

Interactive Dashboards

Talnabrunnur

Public Health Indicators

The Directorate of Health's Health Registers