Comparing the usefulness of two mortality registries for data-linkage for prospective cohorts in Mexico

Salud Publica Mex. 2022 Feb 25;64(1):96-99. doi: 10.21149/13384.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the sensitivity and specificity of two Mexican death registries for the identification of vital status using a publicly available record-linkage tool.

Materials and methods: We selected all reported deaths (n=581) and 575 alive participants in an epidemiologic cohort with active follow-up. Individual records were cross-linked to two mortal-ity registries.

Results: A sensitivity of 87.2% (95%CI: 84.7, 90.2) and specificity of 99.3% (95%CI: 98.2, 99.8) were jointly achieved with both registries. Major discrepancies in cause of death were observed in 10.8% of deaths.

Conclusion: There is initial evidence that Mexican death registries are a valuable resource for mortality follow-up in epidemiologic studies.

MeSH terms

  • Cohort Studies
  • Data Collection
  • Humans
  • Mexico / epidemiology
  • Prospective Studies*
  • Registries