Written Question · S3W-21617 · Session 3
How many deaths have been attributed to thrombosis in each year from 1998 to 2002.
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths have been attributed to thrombosis in each year from 1998 to 2002.
The answer
The information requested is shown in the following table, and represents the best estimates available, rather an exact count, for the following reasons.
This information uses groups of causes of deaths. In the case of some of the groups, it is thought that all the deaths from those causes are due to the specified type of thrombosis; in the case of the other groups, it is thought that most of the deaths from those causes are due to the specified types of thrombosis. This is because thrombosis is not a diagnosis, but a mechanism through which diseases cause their effects. Doctors certifying death record the disease or condition relating to death, but do not record the mechanism of disease, which is not known in every case. Some conditions are caused exclusively by thrombosis, but for other conditions, such as stroke, thrombosis contributes only to some, or most, cases. For such conditions, information about the proportion of cases in which there was thrombosis is not routinely available.
In addition, the groups are defined, for the years 1998 and 1999, in terms of codes from the ninth revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-9), and, for the years 2000 to 2002, in terms of codes from the tenth revision of that classification (ICD-10). This is because the General Register Office for Scotland used ICD-9 codes to classify deaths which were registered up to 1999, and ICD-10 codes for deaths which were registered from 2000.
The figures for 1998 and 1999 are therefore on a different basis from those for 2000 and later years, due to the change in the classification. The figures for 1998 and 1999 are likely to be less reliable than those for 2000 onwards, because the ICD-9 code-list was generally less detailed than the ICD-10 one. The groups shown here may therefore differ from those which have been used, on other occasions, to provide statistics of the numbers of deaths caused by particular types of thrombosis.
As the figures demonstrate, the vast majority of these deaths are caused by clots in the coronary arteries, which result in certain types of heart attack, and clots in the brain, which result in certain types of stroke.
Cause of Death
| 1998
| 1999
| 2000
| 2001
| 2002
Coronary thrombosis
- all cases are due to it (1)
| 8,809
| 8,577
| 7,508
| 7,326
| 7,269
Coronary thrombosis
- most cases are due to it (2)
| 4,592
| 4,747
| 4,793
| 4,469
| 4,295
Cerebral thrombosis (venous and arterial)
- all cases are due to it (3)
| 73
| 102
| 78
| 70
| 51
Cerebra
This information uses groups of causes of deaths. In the case of some of the groups, it is thought that all the deaths from those causes are due to the specified type of thrombosis; in the case of the other groups, it is thought that most of the deaths from those causes are due to the specified types of thrombosis. This is because thrombosis is not a diagnosis, but a mechanism through which diseases cause their effects. Doctors certifying death record the disease or condition relating to death, but do not record the mechanism of disease, which is not known in every case. Some conditions are caused exclusively by thrombosis, but for other conditions, such as stroke, thrombosis contributes only to some, or most, cases. For such conditions, information about the proportion of cases in which there was thrombosis is not routinely available.
In addition, the groups are defined, for the years 1998 and 1999, in terms of codes from the ninth revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-9), and, for the years 2000 to 2002, in terms of codes from the tenth revision of that classification (ICD-10). This is because the General Register Office for Scotland used ICD-9 codes to classify deaths which were registered up to 1999, and ICD-10 codes for deaths which were registered from 2000.
The figures for 1998 and 1999 are therefore on a different basis from those for 2000 and later years, due to the change in the classification. The figures for 1998 and 1999 are likely to be less reliable than those for 2000 onwards, because the ICD-9 code-list was generally less detailed than the ICD-10 one. The groups shown here may therefore differ from those which have been used, on other occasions, to provide statistics of the numbers of deaths caused by particular types of thrombosis.
As the figures demonstrate, the vast majority of these deaths are caused by clots in the coronary arteries, which result in certain types of heart attack, and clots in the brain, which result in certain types of stroke.
Cause of Death
| 1998
| 1999
| 2000
| 2001
| 2002
Coronary thrombosis
- all cases are due to it (1)
| 8,809
| 8,577
| 7,508
| 7,326
| 7,269
Coronary thrombosis
- most cases are due to it (2)
| 4,592
| 4,747
| 4,793
| 4,469
| 4,295
Cerebral thrombosis (venous and arterial)
- all cases are due to it (3)
| 73
| 102
| 78
| 70
| 51
Cerebra
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S3W-21617 by reference.