title: Food-related choking deaths among the elderly.
abstract: During 2007-2010 in the USA, 2214 deaths among people aged ≥65 were attributed to choking on food. The death rate for this cause is higher among the elderly than among any other age group. Using data from the US National Vital Statistics System, we examined the relationship between food suffocation and other causes of death listed on the death certificate. Among decedents aged ≥65, the three most common additional conditions listed on the death certificate were heart disease, dementia and diabetes. However, after estimating the expected joint frequency of other causes based on the overall distribution of all causes of death, we find that three causes-dementia (including Alzheimer's disease), Parkinson's disease and pneumonitis-are most strongly associated with deaths from choking on food among older people.
authors.affiliation: Office of Analysis and Epidemiology, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kramarow
authors.affiliation: Division of Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Hyattsville, Hyattsville, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Warner
authors.affiliation: Office of Analysis and Epidemiology, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Li-Hui
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002423:Cause of Death; D003644:Death Certificates; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D005502:Food / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology