02856nas a2200493 4500000000100000008004100001653001000042653001100052653001100063653000900074653000900083653001600092653001500108653002100123653002200144653001000166653001600176653002400192653002600216653001100242653002000253653002100273653002800294653002100322653002100343653003800364653002700402653003600429653002300465653002300488653002500511653005000536100001500586700001300601700001500614700001300629700001600642245012300658250001500781300001000796490000700806520149800813020005102311 2012 d10aAdult10aFemale10aHumans10aAged10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aAdolescent10aChild, Preschool10aAged, 80 and over10aChild10aYoung Adult10aInterviews as Topic10aSocioeconomic Factors10aInfant10aInfant, Newborn10aSex Distribution10aPopulation Surveillance10aAge Distribution10aAutopsy/ methods10aCardiovascular Diseases/mortality10aCause of Death/ trends10aCommunicable Diseases/mortality10aDeath Certificates10aIndia/epidemiology10aRural Health/ trends10aRural Population/ statistics & numerical data1 aJagnoor J.1 aKumar R.1 aLakshmi P.1 aKumar D.1 aAggarwal A.00aEpidemiological transition in a rural community of northern India: 18-year mortality surveillance using verbal autopsy a2011/11/05 a890-30 v663 a

BACKGROUND: Information on causes of death is vital for planning of health services. However, vital events registration systems are weak in developing countries. Therefore, verbal autopsy (VA) tools were incorporated in a community-based surveillance system to track causes of death. METHOD AND FINDINGS: Trained fieldworker identified all deaths and interviewed a living relative of those who had died during 1992-2009, using VA, in eight villages of Haryana (11,864 populations). These field reports detailing events preceding death were reviewed by two trained physicians, who independently assigned an International Classification of Disease-10 code to each death. Discrepancies were resolved through reconciliation and, if necessary, adjudication. Non-communicable conditions were the leading causes of death (47.6%) followed by communicable diseases including maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions (34.0%), and injuries (11.4%). Cause of death could not be determined in 6.9% cases. Deaths due to cardiovascular diseases showed a significant rise, whereas deaths due to diarrhoeal diseases have declined (p<0.01). Majority (90.0%) of the deceased had contacted a healthcare provider during illness but only 11.5% were admitted in hospital before death. CONCLUSION: Rising trend of cardiovascular diseases observed in a rural community of Haryana in India calls for reorientation of rural healthcare delivery system for prevention and control of chronic diseases.

 a1470-2738 (Electronic)
0143-005X (Linking)