title: A comparison of underlying cause and multiple causes of death: US vital statistics, 2000-2001.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mortality statistics can be compiled using underlying cause-of-death data or multiple cause-of-death data, which include other contributing causes of death.
  
  
  METHODS
  For the leading causes of death in the United States during 2000-2001, we compared underlying and multiple cause-of-death statistics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For some conditions, little difference was observed between the 2 estimates. For other conditions, up to 10 times more deaths were identified from multiple-cause data than from underlying-cause data. The 10 leading causes of death differed when using the 2 types of data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Whenever possible, underlying and multiple cause-of-death statistics should both be presented. Analyses that use only the underlying cause of death ignore additional information that is readily available from multiple-cause data, and the more limited data may underestimate the importance of several leading causes of death.
authors.affiliation: Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, CA, USA. mredelings@ladhs.org
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Redelings
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sorvillo
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Simon
mesh_terms: D002423:Cause of Death; D004194:Disease / Q000145:classification; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology