ArticleAnnals of Saudi medicine
Causes of death certification of adults: an exploratory cross-sectional study at a university hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Article in Annals of Saudi medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review of the Epidemiological, Clinical, and Imaging Features.Current cardiology reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Mortality Trends and Characteristics in a Tertiary Hospital in Southwest Saudi Arabia: A 5-Year Retrospective Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Advancing Health Through Sustainable Development Goals-Saudi Arabia's Mid-Journey Progress and Insights.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2025Review
- Determinants of place of death among individuals with cardiovascular disease: A Saudi sub-national register study.PloS one · 2025Article
- Validating the diagnostic accuracy of medical certification: a population-level comparison between verbal autopsy and Saudi medical records causes of death of deceased with type 2 diabetes.Global health action · 2024Article
- Community perception of causes of death using verbal autopsy for diabetes mellitus in Saudi Arabia.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Factors affecting hospital mortality rate in Iran: a panel data analysis.BMC research notes · 2020Article
- Accuracy and the factors influencing the accuracy of death certificates completed by first-year general practitioners in Thailand.BMC health services research · 2018Article
- Road Traffic Injury as a Major Public Health Issue in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Review.Frontiers in public health · 2016Article
- Associated head injuries and survival rate of patients with maxillofacial fractures in road traffic accident: A prospective study in Saudi Arabia.Journal of family medicine and primary careArticle
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsSaudi Arabia has no precise data on causes of death. We sought to ascertain the commonest causes of death as stated in death certificates of adults and evaluate the completeness of death certificates at a teaching hospital in Riyadh. DESIGN AND SETTINGS: A cross-sectional study carried out at King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the year 2008.
methodsAll death certificates that were issued in 2008 were reviewed and data were checked by two reviewers. Causes of death were coded according to specially-designed codes.
resultsThe mean (SD) age of death was 63.9 (20.7) years. More than 80% arrived alive at the hospital. Among the 410 certificates, 62.2% had the first reported cause of death being classified as "inappropriate" and this tended to be slightly, but significantly more frequent among women. The first most common appropriately reported cause of death was malignancy of any type (7.3%) followed by ischemic heart diseases (4.9%). Accidents and fractures were more common in the younger age groups and among men.
conclusionsThis is the first study that documents the possible gaps among healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia in their understanding of death and its certification based on the clinical assessment of the deceased. The findings needs to be validated by similar studies from other health care sectors. It is clear, however, that proven educational, system-related and legal interventions to improve the accuracy of death certification are strongly needed if the health care priorities are to be properly identified.
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