Cause-specific mortality in Africa and Asia: evidence from INDEPTH health and demographic surveillance system sites

BACKGROUND: Because most deaths in Africa and Asia are not well documented, estimates of mortality are often made using scanty data. The INDEPTH Network works to alleviate this problem by collating detailed individual data from defined Health and Demographic Surveillance sites. By registering all deaths over time and carrying out verbal autopsies to determine cause of death across many such sites, using standardised methods, the Network seeks to generate population-based mortality statistics that are not otherwise available. OBJECTIVE: To build a large standardised mortality database from African and Asian sites, detailing the relevant methods, and use it to describe cause-specific mortality patterns. DESIGN: Individual demographic and verbal autopsy (VA) data from 22 INDEPTH sites were collated into a standardised database.…