Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

In the analysis of any particular set of mortality data, a pivotal role is frequently played by national death rates by age, sex and cause. For example, the analysis of cause specific time trends and their correlates generally draws upon data of this sort. At a broader level, international comparisons utilise the rates of several nations in order to make meaningful inferences about possible causal associations. By contrast, local mortality studies, including sub-sets and sub-divisions of the national population, call upon national rates to provide a reference set of background mortality levels against which local experience can be measured. However, the extent to which this can be done is dependent upon the availability of national rates on computer. In recognition of this, OPCS has constructed a database comprising the basic building bricks for constructing any aggregate database. In this instance the basic components of the database comprise number of deaths, held to the lowest level to which cause was routinely coded. The calculation of rates is made possible with this set of data by the provision of a comparable tape of estimates of population at risk. The data comprise two files, the deaths file and the population file. Each count held on the deaths file is stored in a separate record, referenced by cause, sex, age and year to which it refers. The population data are held in an identical format to that used for the death file with the exception of the cause variable, which is set to zero.

Main Topics:

Variables The OPCS historic deaths file contains number of deaths in England and Wales by year, sex, age and ICD (International Classification of Disease) cause. In all there have been nine revisions of the international classification. Each of these provides a coding frame for cause of death which differs, to varying degrees, from the previous revision. The years for which each ICD revision was used in the tabulation of England and Wales mortality data are shown in the documentation which accompanies this dataset. For most years, data are held in the following age groups: under one; one to four; five year age groups from five to eighty four and then all aged eighty five and over. Exceptions to this rule are the years 1901-1910, during which ages 25-84 are stored in ten year age groups and 1921-1941 when figures at ages 80 and over are not sub-divided. Full details are provided in the documentation. The OPCS population file contains population estimates by sex, year and age. Age groupings for each year correspond to those used for the death data for that year. Please note: this study does not include information on named individuals and would therefore not be useful for personal family history research.

No sampling (total universe)

Compilation or synthesis of existing material