§ Mr. PicklesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many recorded deaths from sudden adult death syndrome there were in each of the last 10 years. [146916]
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§ Mr. DenhamIn the years to 1999, the last year for which final figures are available, the Office for National Statistics (ONS), classified deaths using the Ninth Revision of the International Classification of Disease (ICD9). Unexplained sudden deaths where the cause could not be ascertained would have been classified to a variety of ICD9 codes, depending on what was recorded on the death certificate. For some of these cases insufficient information was available to determine whether they were true sudden adult death syndrome deaths.
However, where death certificates contained a mention of sudden adult death syndrome, these were coded by the Office of National Statistics to ICD9 798.1— instantaneous death, cause unknown. Figures given are those for which this was the underlying cause of death. For the reasons given, these figures may understate the total number of sudden unexplained deaths.
Deaths where the underlying cause of death is ICD9 798.1, for ages 16 and over, England and Wales, 1990–991 Number of deaths 1990 0 1991 0 1992 1 1993 6 1994 10 1995 22 1996 12 1997 30 1998 49 1999 35 1 1990–92 based on number of deaths registered in a year. Note:
1993–99 based on number of deaths occurring in a year.