Death from airways obstruction: accuracy of certification in Northern Ireland.

Abstract

In a population of subjects where asthma or COPD was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, the registered cause of death is a relatively poor indicator of the "true" cause of death for both asthma and COPD. Variation occurred in the application of death classification rules by registration officers. Many deaths certified and registered as COPD could have been called asthma using current standards of clinical diagnosis. In studies investigating risk factors for deaths from asthma, case finding should consider deaths registered as COPD.