Who died of what in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a cause of death analysis using InterVA-4.

ABSTRACT:

Background

For public health purposes, it is important to see whether men and women in different age groups die of the same causes in South Africa.

Objective

We explored sex- and age-specific patterns of causes of deaths in a rural demographic surveillance site in northern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa over the period 2000-2011.

Design

Deaths reported through the demographic surveillance were followed up by a verbal autopsy (VA) interview using a standardised questionnaire. Causes of death were assigned likelihoods using the publicly available tool InterVA-4. Cause-specific mortality fractions were determined by age and sex.

Results

Over the study period, a total of 5,416 (47%) and 6,081 (53%) deaths were recorded in men and women, respectively. Major causes of

SUBMITTER: Mossong J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4220127 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature