Background
Methods
Analysing multiple cause of death data
Australian cause of death records
Categories of causes of death
Results
Illustrative example
I: Ten hypothetical death records | |||||||
Record ID | UCoD | CCoDs | |||||
1 | A | ||||||
2 | A | A | |||||
3 | A | B | |||||
4 | A | B C | |||||
5 | A | A C | |||||
6 | B | A D | |||||
7 | B | C D | |||||
8 | C | A C A | |||||
9 | D | B C | |||||
10 | D | A B C | |||||
II: Data driven weights | |||||||
Step 1: Calculate of the number of CCoDs associated with each UCoD, across all 10 records divided by the frequency of the UCoD, but this is zero if the CCoD is the same as the UCoD | |||||||
UCoD | Frequency of UCoD | CCoD | |||||
A | B | C | D | ||||
A | 5 | 0/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 0/5 | ||
B | 2 | 1/2 | 0/2 | 1/2 | 2/2 | ||
C | 1 | 1/1 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/1 | ||
D | 2 | 1/2 | 2/2 | 2/2 | 0/2 | ||
Step 2: Calculation of data driven weights for each cause For each CCoD that is different from the UCoD, weight = (number from Step 1)/(number of CCoDs in record) (that are not the same as the UCoD) For UCoD, weight = 1 – sum of weights for CCoDs | |||||||
Record ID | UCoD | CCoDs | # of CCoDs | Data driven weights for each cause | |||
A | B | C | D | ||||
1 | A | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2 | A | A | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3 | A | B | 1 | 1-(2/5) = 3/5 | (2/5)/1 = 2/5 | 0 | 0 |
4 | A | B C | 2 | 1-(1/5)-(1/5) = 3/5 | (2/5)/2 = 1/5 | (2/5)/2 = 1/5 | 0 |
5 | A | A C | 1 | 1-(2/5) = 3/5 | 0 | (2/5)/1 = 2/5 | 0 |
6 | B | A D | 2 | (1/2)/2 = 1/4 | 1-(1/4)-(1/2) = 1/4 | 0 | (2/2)/2 = 1/2 |
7 | B | C D | 2 | 0 | 1-(1/4)-(1/2) = 1/4 | (1/2)/2 = 1/4 | (2/2)/2 = 1/2 |
8 | C | A C A | 1 | (1/1)/1 = 1 | 0 | 1–1 = 0 | 0 |
9 | D | B C | 2 | 0 | (2/2)/2 = 1/2 | (2/2)/2 = 1/2 | 1-(1/2)-(1/2) = 0 |
10 | D | A B C | 3 | (1/2)/3 = 1/6 | (2/2)/3 = 1/3 | (2/2)/3 = 1/3 | 1-(1/6)-(1/3)-(1/3) = 1/6 |
III. Arbitrary weights, if UCoD has weight p = 1/2 and there is equal allocation across all unique CCoDs | |||||||
Record ID | UCoD | CCoDs | Arbitrary weights for each cause of death | ||||
A | B | C | D | ||||
1 | A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
2 | A | A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
3 | A | B | 1/2 | 1/2 | 0 | 0 | |
4 | A | B C | 1/2 | 1/4 | 1/4 | 0 | |
5 | A | A C | 1/2 | 0 | 1/2 | 0 | |
6 | B | A D | 1/4 | 1/2 | 0 | 1/4 | |
7 | B | C D | 0 | 1/2 | 1/4 | 1/4 | |
8 | C | A C A | 1/2 | 0 | 1/2 | 0 | |
9 | D | B C | 0 | 1/4 | 1/4 | 1/2 | |
10 | D | A B C | 1/6 | 1/6 | 1/6 | 1/2 | |
IV: Comparison of contributions of causes of death | |||||||
A | B | C | D | ||||
UCoD only | 50.00% | 20.00% | 10.00% | 20.00% | |||
Data driven weights | 52.17% | 19.33% | 16.83% | 11.67% | |||
Arbitrary weights, with p = 1/2 | 44.17% | 21.67% | 19.17% | 15.00% |
Australian cause of death data
Age groups (years) | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
60–74 | 75–84 | ≥ 85 | ||
Men | 244,366 (1.06) | 293,703 (1.31) | 284,125 (1.37) | 822,194 (1.26) |
Women | 152,062 (0.98) | 239,729 (1.24) | 449,249 (1.28) | 841,040 (1.21) |
Total | 396,428 (1.03) | 533,432 (1.28) | 733,374 (1.31) | 1,663,234 (1.23) |
Cause | Number of UCoDs | Data driven | Arbitrary weights varying p from 1 to 0 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 = UCoD | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0 = CCoDs | |||
Infectious, parasitic disease | 37,765 | 2.17 | 2.27 | 2.24 | 2.18 | 2.12 | 2.06 | 1.99 | 1.96 |
Colorectal cancer | 58,531 | 3.43 | 3.52 | 3.24 | 2.67 | 2.11 | 1.55 | 0.98 | 0.70 |
Liver cancer | 15,821 | 0.90 | 0.95 | 0.86 | 0.69 | 0.51 | 0.34 | 0.16 | 0.07 |
Pancreatic cancer | 28,538 | 1.68 | 1.72 | 1.55 | 1.23 | 0.90 | 0.57 | 0.25 | 0.09 |
Lung, tracheal cancer | 90,891 | 5.22 | 5.46 | 4.96 | 3.96 | 2.96 | 1.96 | 0.96 | 0.46 |
Melanoma, malignant skin cancer | 20,819 | 1.22 | 1.25 | 1.16 | 0.98 | 0.80 | 0.61 | 0.43 | 0.34 |
Breast cancer | 26,505 | 1.56 | 1.59 | 1.49 | 1.29 | 1.09 | 0.89 | 0.69 | 0.59 |
Prostate cancer | 39,841 | 2.33 | 2.40 | 2.26 | 1.98 | 1.70 | 1.42 | 1.14 | 1.00 |
Lymph, blood cancer | 54,034 | 3.17 | 3.25 | 3.06 | 2.67 | 2.29 | 1.91 | 1.52 | 1.33 |
Other malignant neoplasm | 142,881 | 8.63 | 8.59 | 8.23 | 7.52 | 6.80 | 6.09 | 5.38 | 5.02 |
Benign neoplasm, blood, metabolic disease | 27,882 | 1.72 | 1.68 | 1.81 | 2.09 | 2.36 | 2.63 | 2.90 | 3.04 |
Diabetes | 42,902 | 2.74 | 2.58 | 2.86 | 3.44 | 4.01 | 4.58 | 5.15 | 5.43 |
Other endocrine disease | 2,247 | 0.13 | 0.14 | 0.19 | 0.29 | 0.39 | 0.49 | 0.59 | 0.64 |
Dementia, Alzheimer's disease | 135,475 | 8.44 | 8.15 | 8.07 | 7.90 | 7.74 | 7.58 | 7.42 | 7.34 |
Other mental disorder | 6,527 | 0.56 | 0.39 | 0.64 | 1.14 | 1.64 | 2.14 | 2.63 | 2.88 |
Parkinson's disease | 18,817 | 1.09 | 1.13 | 1.11 | 1.08 | 1.05 | 1.01 | 0.98 | 0.96 |
Other neurological condition | 22,607 | 1.35 | 1.36 | 1.36 | 1.35 | 1.34 | 1.34 | 1.33 | 1.33 |
Eye, ear disease | 119 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.09 | 0.14 | 0.20 | 0.25 | 0.28 |
Hypertensive disease | 18,717 | 2.05 | 1.13 | 1.82 | 3.21 | 4.61 | 6.00 | 7.39 | 8.09 |
Ischaemic heart disease | 249,077 | 14.37 | 14.98 | 14.46 | 13.44 | 12.41 | 11.39 | 10.36 | 9.85 |
Cardiac arrhythmia | 23,447 | 1.57 | 1.41 | 1.68 | 2.22 | 2.77 | 3.31 | 3.85 | 4.12 |
Heart failure | 41,859 | 2.69 | 2.52 | 2.72 | 3.13 | 3.53 | 3.94 | 4.34 | 4.54 |
Cerebrovascular disease | 135,272 | 7.50 | 8.13 | 7.75 | 6.99 | 6.23 | 5.46 | 4.70 | 4.32 |
Other circulatory disease | 71,395 | 4.45 | 4.29 | 4.52 | 4.96 | 5.41 | 5.85 | 6.30 | 6.52 |
Influenza, pneumonia | 33,424 | 1.95 | 2.01 | 1.91 | 1.72 | 1.53 | 1.34 | 1.15 | 1.06 |
Chronic lower respiratory disease | 85,154 | 5.09 | 5.12 | 5.12 | 5.12 | 5.12 | 5.13 | 5.13 | 5.13 |
Other respiratory disease | 37,332 | 2.18 | 2.24 | 2.28 | 2.37 | 2.45 | 2.53 | 2.61 | 2.65 |
Liver disease | 13,177 | 0.78 | 0.79 | 0.81 | 0.86 | 0.90 | 0.94 | 0.98 | 1.01 |
Other digestive disease | 44,368 | 2.54 | 2.67 | 2.65 | 2.60 | 2.56 | 2.51 | 2.47 | 2.45 |
Skin disease | 5,543 | 0.31 | 0.33 | 0.35 | 0.39 | 0.43 | 0.47 | 0.51 | 0.53 |
Musculoskeletal disease | 14,585 | 0.92 | 0.88 | 1.06 | 1.44 | 1.81 | 2.19 | 2.56 | 2.75 |
Kidney disease | 47,559 | 3.00 | 2.86 | 3.14 | 3.72 | 4.29 | 4.86 | 5.43 | 5.71 |
Other genitourinary disease | 1,014 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.07 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.09 | 0.10 | 0.11 |
Reproductive, maternal condition | 318 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
Perinatal condition, congenital malformation | 1,661 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.10 |
Symptoms, signs, ill-defined condition | 11,109 | 0.87 | 0.67 | 1.00 | 1.67 | 2.33 | 3.00 | 3.67 | 4.00 |
External cause mechanisms, traumatic injuries | 24,212 | 1.50 | 1.46 | 1.65 | 2.03 | 2.41 | 2.78 | 3.16 | 3.35 |
Accidental falls | 24,761 | 1.39 | 1.49 | 1.36 | 1.10 | 0.84 | 0.58 | 0.32 | 0.19 |
Intentional self-harm | 7,048 | 0.36 | 0.42 | 0.38 | 0.30 | 0.22 | 0.14 | 0.06 | 0.02 |
Total | 1,663,234 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 |
Cause | Men aged 60–74 | Men aged 75–84 | Men aged 85 and over | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UCoD | DD | p = 0.5 | UCoD | DD | p = 0.5 | UCoD | DD | p = 0.5 | |
Ischaemic heart disease | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Other malignant neoplasm | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
Lung, tracheal cancer | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | |||
Cerebrovascular disease | 7 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Dementia, Alzheimer's disease | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||
Chronic lower respiratory disease | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
Prostate cancer | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 10 | |
Other circulatory disease | 8 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 |
Colorectal cancer | 4 | 4 | 10 | 10 | |||||
Lymph, blood cancer | 6 | 6 | 9 | 9 | |||||
Kidney disease | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | |||||
Diabetes | 10 | 6 | 7 | ||||||
Other respiratory disease | 10 | 10 | |||||||
Heart failure | 9 | 9 | 7 | ||||||
Hypertensive disease | 7 | 9 | |||||||
Pancreatic cancer | 10 | ||||||||
External cause, traumatic injuries | 9 | ||||||||
Other mental disorder | 10 |
Cause | Women aged 60–74 | Women aged 75–84 | Women aged 85 and over | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UCoD | DD | p = 0.5 | UCoD | DD | p = 0.5 | UCoD | DD | p = 0.5 | |
Ischaemic heart disease | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Dementia, Alzheimer's disease | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |||
Cerebrovascular disease | 7 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Other malignant neoplasm | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | |
Chronic lower respiratory disease | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
Other circulatory disease | 9 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Lung, tracheal cancer | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | ||||
Colorectal cancer | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | |||||
Breast cancer | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 10 | ||||
Other digestive disease | 8 | 10 | |||||||
Kidney disease | 10 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | ||||
Heart failure | 10 | 6 | 6 | 6 | |||||
Lymph, blood cancer | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | |||||
Influenza, pneumonia | 10 | ||||||||
Hypertensive disease | 9 | 7 | 9 | 4 | |||||
Pancreatic cancer | 10 | 10 | |||||||
Diabetes | 7 | 8 | |||||||
Cardiac arrhythmia | 8 | ||||||||
Symptoms, signs ill-defined conditions | 9 |