Underlying and contributing causes of mortality from CDC WONDER—Insights for researchers

Background: The multiple cause of death files available through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC WONDER) present underlying and contributing causes of mortality. We sought to evaluate potential differences in mortality reporting t...

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Main Authors: Abdul Mannan Khan Minhas, Laurence S. Sperling, Sadeer Al-Kindi, Dmitry Abramov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-02-01
Series:American Heart Journal Plus
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666602225000023
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author Abdul Mannan Khan Minhas
Laurence S. Sperling
Sadeer Al-Kindi
Dmitry Abramov
author_facet Abdul Mannan Khan Minhas
Laurence S. Sperling
Sadeer Al-Kindi
Dmitry Abramov
author_sort Abdul Mannan Khan Minhas
collection DOAJ
description Background: The multiple cause of death files available through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC WONDER) present underlying and contributing causes of mortality. We sought to evaluate potential differences in mortality reporting that may occur based on utilization of only underlying versus utilization of both underlying and contributing cause of mortality. Methods: All-cause and top 5 underlying causes of deaths in individuals ≥25 years of age from 2011 to 2019 occurring within United States were extracted from CDC WONDER. Deaths for the top 5 underlying causes of death as underlying and as underlying or contributing causes were extracted. For each cause, we calculated the percentage of the deaths that would be reported if only the underlying versus the underlying or contributing mortality was reported. Results: Between 2011 and 2019, the top 5 underlying causes of mortality were heart disease, malignant neoplasm, chronic lower respiratory disease, cerebrovascular disease, and accidents. For these causes, the percentages of deaths presented by reporting (underlying)/(underlying or contributing) causes were 53 %, 91 %, 50 %, 59 %, and 79 % respectively. Discussion/conclusion: Data within the commonly utilized multiple cause of death files from CDC WONDER demonstrate that reliance solely on the underlying cause of mortality may underestimate important contributions of common contributing causes. These findings could aid in the understanding of published research and may shape the framework for future studies utilizing multiple cause of death data through CDC WONDER.
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spelling doaj-art-20b6778375e541da85466e849fa8e7562025-02-08T05:01:21ZengElsevierAmerican Heart Journal Plus2666-60222025-02-0150100499Underlying and contributing causes of mortality from CDC WONDER—Insights for researchersAbdul Mannan Khan Minhas0Laurence S. Sperling1Sadeer Al-Kindi2Dmitry Abramov3Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States of America; Section of Cardiovascular Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States of AmericaDivision of Cardiovascular Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States of AmericaDivision of Cardiology, Houston Methodist, Houston, TX, United States of AmericaDivision of Cardiology, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, CA, United States of America; Corresponding author at: Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Loma Linda University Medical Center, 2068 Orange Tree Lane, Suite 215, Redlands, CA 92374, United States of America.Background: The multiple cause of death files available through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC WONDER) present underlying and contributing causes of mortality. We sought to evaluate potential differences in mortality reporting that may occur based on utilization of only underlying versus utilization of both underlying and contributing cause of mortality. Methods: All-cause and top 5 underlying causes of deaths in individuals ≥25 years of age from 2011 to 2019 occurring within United States were extracted from CDC WONDER. Deaths for the top 5 underlying causes of death as underlying and as underlying or contributing causes were extracted. For each cause, we calculated the percentage of the deaths that would be reported if only the underlying versus the underlying or contributing mortality was reported. Results: Between 2011 and 2019, the top 5 underlying causes of mortality were heart disease, malignant neoplasm, chronic lower respiratory disease, cerebrovascular disease, and accidents. For these causes, the percentages of deaths presented by reporting (underlying)/(underlying or contributing) causes were 53 %, 91 %, 50 %, 59 %, and 79 % respectively. Discussion/conclusion: Data within the commonly utilized multiple cause of death files from CDC WONDER demonstrate that reliance solely on the underlying cause of mortality may underestimate important contributions of common contributing causes. These findings could aid in the understanding of published research and may shape the framework for future studies utilizing multiple cause of death data through CDC WONDER.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666602225000023CDC WONDERMortalityContributingUnderlying
spellingShingle Abdul Mannan Khan Minhas
Laurence S. Sperling
Sadeer Al-Kindi
Dmitry Abramov
Underlying and contributing causes of mortality from CDC WONDER—Insights for researchers
American Heart Journal Plus
CDC WONDER
Mortality
Contributing
Underlying
title Underlying and contributing causes of mortality from CDC WONDER—Insights for researchers
title_full Underlying and contributing causes of mortality from CDC WONDER—Insights for researchers
title_fullStr Underlying and contributing causes of mortality from CDC WONDER—Insights for researchers
title_full_unstemmed Underlying and contributing causes of mortality from CDC WONDER—Insights for researchers
title_short Underlying and contributing causes of mortality from CDC WONDER—Insights for researchers
title_sort underlying and contributing causes of mortality from cdc wonder insights for researchers
topic CDC WONDER
Mortality
Contributing
Underlying
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666602225000023
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AT sadeeralkindi underlyingandcontributingcausesofmortalityfromcdcwonderinsightsforresearchers
AT dmitryabramov underlyingandcontributingcausesofmortalityfromcdcwonderinsightsforresearchers