OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the comparability of the underlying cause and multiple causes of death identified according to the ninth and tenth revisions of the International Classification of Diseases. METHODS: Study data was obtained by a random sample of 3,313 death certificates of individuals living in the State of S. Paulo and whose death was registered during the year of 1992. They corresponded to 1.6% of the total deaths of that year. The corresponding file was processed by the Automated Classification of Medical Entities system, and codes were assigned to all mentioned conditions. The underlying cause of death had been evaluated and revised according to the ninth revision. All the conditions mentioned on the medical form of the corresponding death certificates were coded according to the tenth revision and the codes were introduced in the original file in order to assess the causes of death by the Declarações de Óbito de S. Paulo system to obtain the underlying cause of death. Multiple causes of death tabulations for both ninth and tenth revisions codes were produced by the respective versions of the Multiple Causes of Death Tabulator software. The comparisons of causes of death are circumscribed to the chapters of both revisions. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: The most important changes with the underlying causes of death occurred in chapters I, III and VIII of the ninth revision and the corresponding chapters I, IV and X of the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases. They were due to the displacement of deaths related to the human immunodeficiency virus disease and the dismissal of pneumonias as a cause of death. Regarding multiple causes of death, it was observed an increase ofrespiratory diseases and a corresponding reduction of causes included in the chapter of ill-defined affections due to recoding of respiratory failure.
International Classification of Diseases; Underlying cause of death; Data comparability; Mortality
