Multiple Cause-of-Death Analysis: A Comparison between France and Italy

Aline Desesquelles, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)
Antonio Salvatore, Università di Roma "La Sapienza"
Marilena Pappagallo, Instituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT)
Luisa Frova, Instituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT)
Monica Pace, Instituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT)
Viviana Egidi, Università di Roma "La Sapienza"

We use the multiple cause-of-death approach to compare the mortality profiles of Italy and France in 2003. Data base on the information reported by the certifying physicians on the death certificates. We first evaluate the overall impact of taking into account both the underlying and the contributory causes. We then compare the combination of causes in the two countries. The average number of causes per certificate is higher in Italy than in France. The multiple cause-of-death approach does not substantially alter the ranking of the causes of death but it reinforces the role played by conditions that are not among the top three leading causes of death, such as the diseases of the blood and the diseases of the skin. As to the combinations of causes, we were able to distinguish several patterns according to the underlying cause of the death. These patterns are common to both countries.