E/escap/cst/inf/9: Improving vital statistics and cause of death statistics: The experience of Thailand

Table 4.  The 10 leading causes of death in Thailand before and after correction, 2005 

Top 10 causes of death in VR 

national (before) 

% total 

Corrected top 10 causes of 

death (after) 

 % total 

Ill-defined 38.2

Cerebrovascular 

disease 

11.6 

Septicemia 

5.8

Ischemic heart disease 

7.4 

All other external causes 

4.8

Diabetes 

6.2 

Other malignant neoplasm 

3.9

Road traffic accident 

5.9 

Cerebrovascular diseases 

3.9

HIV/AIDS 

5.9 

Other diseases of the 

genitourinary system 

3.2

Liver cancer 

5.4 

Liver cancer 

3.2

COPD 

4.4 

Pneumonia 3.1

Lung 

cancer 

3.2 

Ischemic heart diseases 

2.9

Nephritis and nephrosis 

3.1 

Road traffic accidents 

2.8

Lower respiratory infections 

2.6 

All others 

     28.2

All others 

 44.3 

Total 

     100.0

Total 

100.0 

 

 

37. 

The detailed results of the study described above will be published in a scientific journal in 

2009, but even the summary description of the results given here clearly shows that the sampling 

methods and the use of standard verbal autopsy and medical records review procedures, has been 

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successful in reducing the massive amount of deaths coded to ill-defined causes in Thailand and 

yielded diagnoses which are likely to be of much greater relevance for guiding health debates and 

priorities in Thailand than the uncorrected vital registration data.