Causes of death at home among persons aged 20–60

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Abstract

Objective. To compare the structure of causes of death at home among 20–60 year-olds in 2019 and 2024 in the Moscow Region and discuss possible reasons for the changes.

Materials and methods. Data on medical death certificates (MDC) from the electronic database of the Moscow Region International Analytical Center for 2019 and 2024. The years for comparison were selected taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2023). In total, 88,156 people died in 2019, of which 6,529 (7.4%) died at home among 20–60 year-olds, in 2024 – 94,645, at home – 5,872 (6.2%). Almost all MDCs were issued by forensic medical examination bureaus.

Results. A change in the structure of causes of death by ICD-10 classes was revealed (p < 0.0001); The number of deaths from nervous and mental diseases (classes G and F) has significantly decreased: such causes as alcohol dependence syndrome (F10.2), degeneration of the nervous system caused by alcohol (G31.2), unspecified encephalopathy (G93.4) have practically disappeared. A sharp increase in the number of deaths was noted from cardiomyopathies (I42.0-9) and unknown cause of death (R99). The share of deaths from the class of diseases of the circulatory system, for which emergency medical care is likely needed, decreased by 6.1% (29.6% in 2019 and 23.6% in 2024). The discussion section presents a number of reasons for the changes.

Conclusion. The reduction in the number of deaths at home from tuberculosis, cancer, and especially from causes for which emergency medical care was likely needed, indirectly indicates an improvement in the system of organizing medical care in the Moscow Region. A significant change in the structure of causes of death indicates problems with determining the underlying cause of death.

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About the authors

E. P. Kakorina

Moscow Regional Research Clinical Institute

Email: samor2000@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6033-5564
SPIN-code: 2909-9069

Professor, MD

Russian Federation, Moscow

I. V. Samorodskaya

Moscow Regional Research Clinical Institute

Author for correspondence.
Email: samor2000@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9320-1503
SPIN-code: 6470-5709

Professor, MD

Russian Federation, Moscow

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2. Fig. 1. Proportion of deaths at home among persons aged 20–60 by cancer location out of all cases of neoplasms in 2019 and 2024

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3. Fig. 2. Contribution of individual causes of death in the category «Circulatory system diseases» among persons aged 20–60 who died at home in 2019 and 2024.

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