ArticleBMJ open2021
Uncertainty and the reporting of intellectual disability on death certificates: a cross-sectional study of US mortality data from 2005 to 2017.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Applying machine learning to identify unrecognized COVID-19 deaths recorded as other causes of death in the United States.Science advances · 2026Article
- Palliative and end-of-life care in people with and without intellectual disabilities in primary care: identification, survival time, and healthcare utilization.Family practice · 2026Article
- Factors impacting survival in individuals with Down syndrome-associated Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- All-cause and cause-specific mortality among people with and without intellectual disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands: a population-based cohort study.The Lancet. Public health · 2023Article
- Reporting Down syndrome on the death certificate for Alzheimer disease/unspecified dementia deaths.PloS one · 2023Article
- Postmortem Diagnostic Overshadowing: Reporting Cerebral Palsy on Death Certificates.Journal of health and social behavior · 2022Article
- Factors associated with the reporting of Down syndrome as the underlying cause of death on US death certificates.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR · 2022Article
- Cancer in deceased adults with intellectual disabilities: English population-based study using linked data from three sources.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Mortality rate and cause among people with intellectual disabilities in South Korea: A nationwide representative cross-sectional study from 2015 to 2019.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
- A Comparative Case Study of Hospice and Hospital End-of-Life Care for Aging Adults With Developmental Disabilities.Global qualitative nursing researchArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate whether uncertainty surrounding the death is associated with the inaccurate reporting of intellectual disability as the underlying cause of death.
designNational Vital Statistics System 2005-2017 US Multiple Cause-of-Death Mortality files.
settingUSA.
participantsAdults with an intellectual disability reported on their death certificate, aged 18 and over at the time of death. The study population included 26 555 adults who died in their state of residence between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2017. PRIMARY OUTCOME AND MEASURES: Decedents with intellectual disability reported on their death certificate were identified using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision code for intellectual disability (F70-79). Bivariate analysis and multilevel logistic regression models were used to investigate whether individual-level and state-level characteristics indicative of increased uncertainty at the time of death were associated with the inaccurate reporting of intellectual disability as the underlying cause of death.
resultsInaccurate reporting of intellectual disability as the underlying cause of death was associated with sociodemographic characteristics, death context characteristics and comorbidities indicative of an increased amount of uncertainty surrounding the death. Most striking were increased odds of having intellectual disability reported as the underlying cause of death for decedents who had a choking event (OR=14.7; 95% CI 12.9 to 16.6, p<0.001), an external cause of death associated with a high degree of uncertainty, reported on their death certificate.
conclusionIt is imperative that medical personnel not let increased uncertainty lead to the inaccurate reporting of intellectual disability as the underlying cause of death as this practice obscures cause of death trends for this population. Instead, even in instances when increased uncertainty surrounds the death, certifiers should strive to accurately identify the disease or injury causing death, and report the disability in Part II of the death certificate.
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