The analysis of some public health problems, relating to diseases, is chiefly made through mortality statistics. Information obtained by this way make references only to the underlying cause of death. It is recognized, however, that the underlying cause of death, in the majority of the cases, is not sufficient for preventive precedences. Consequently it is necessary to know the contributive causes. Increasing importance is given, in time, to knowledge of multiple causes of death and to the most common associations of diseases. The authors describe a research "Investigation of Multiple Causes of Death", that is being carried out in some cities in Latin America. This research will be helpful in order to set rules for codification and tabulation of Multiple Causes of Death aiming at supplying data to the Ninth Revision of the International Classifications of Diseases.
Vital statistics; Death