We only die once… but from how many causes?

Abstract

Analysing causes of death provides a better understanding of long-term mortality trends. In France, the death certificates completed by physicians generally mention several causes of death (2.4 on average in 2011). As a general rule, just one of them, the so-called underlying cause, is taken into account. As a result, the contribution of certain diseases – endocrine diseases for example – to mortality is severely underestimated. In a context of rising life expectancy where people increasingly die not from a single cause of death but from several, it is important to also take these contributing causes into account.