However, we believe that, as it occurs in many other countries, diabetes mortality rate is underestimated in Argentina due to inappropriate registration of the disease as a second or third underlying cause of death.
Diabetes is the sixth leading underlying cause of death in the United States and has been estimated to cost 91.5 billion dollars annually in medical care and lost productivity [ 12].
When we focus on the population that has diabetes mentioned on the death certificate, as mentioned above 29.3% of the time diabetes is selected as the underlying, and the second most common underlying cause selected is ischemic hear disease at 25.4%, followed by cerebrovascular disease at 7.75% then followed by Other diseases of the heart 2.9%.
The second most common underlying cause of death when ischemic heart disease was mentioned was, in fact, diabetes (3.4% of the time underlying), followed by cerebrovascular disease (2.7% of the time underlying), then pneumonia (1.5% of the time underlying).
All causes of death and conditions leading to death are entered on the DNF– the immediate, second, third, fourth, other condition and the underlying cause.
The third is the underlying cause, the ailment that set off the chain of events.
First, the official underlying cause of death might not be 100% accurate.
In participants for whom diverticular disease was the first diagnosis or underlying cause of death (n=10 673 cases), the risk of diverticular disease for each 5 g/day higher intake was 15% lower (RR=0.85 95% CI 0.82 to 0.88).
Cancer-specific deaths were determined as a first, or principal underlying cause of death with International Classification of Disease (ICD) 10 codes for colorectal cancer, C18 to C20, as well as C26 and C80.
Cancer-specific deaths were determined as a first, or principal underlying cause of death with International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 9 codes for colon and rectal cancers, 153 and 154, as well as 150 , 157 , 159199 and by ICD-10 codes C18 to 20, as well as C15, C25, C26 and C80.
