The validity of the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register and Causes of Death Register data on coronary heart disease
- 1 April 2005
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in European Journal of Preventive Cardiology
- Vol. 12 (2), 132-137
- https://doi.org/10.1097/00149831-200504000-00007
Abstract
The recent introduction of sensitive markers of myocardial injury is likely to affect the epidemiology of coronary heart disease (CHD). The American Heart Association together with other societies and research agencies have recently published a new definition on acute CHD to improve consistency in epidemiological and clinical studies (referred here as the '2003 definition'). In this study we compare the data on CHD events in the Finnish National Hospital Discharge Register (HDR) and the Causes of Death Register (CDR) with the population-based myocardial infarction (MI) register, FINMONICA/FINAMI. The FINMONICA/FINAMI events were classified according to the 2003 definition. The relevant International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes from the HDR and CDR were used. Using the 2003 definition as the reference, the overall sensitivity of the ICD codes for MI in the combined HDR and CDR was 83% and the positive predictive value (PPV) was 90%. When the ICD codes for unstable angina were added to the analyses, the sensitivity improved to 85% and the PPV declined to 83%. In the age group 35-74 the sensitivity of the MI codes improved over time, in men from 64% in 1988-1992 to 81% in 1998-2002, and in women from 61 to 78%, respectively. The oldest age group, 75 years or older, had sensitivity and PPV values comparable to those of the younger. Diagnoses of fatal and non-fatal CHD events in the Finnish HDR and Causes of Death register were reasonably valid indicators for hard CHD events when compared with the FINMONICA/FINAMI register data.Keywords
This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit:
- Case Definitions for Acute Coronary Heart Disease in Epidemiology and Clinical Research StudiesCirculation, 2003
- Impact of the troponin standard on the prevalence of acute myocardial infarctionAmerican Heart Journal, 2003
- Trends in coronary events in Finland during 1983–1997; The FINAMI studyEuropean Heart Journal, 2003
- The validity of the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction in routine statistics A comparison of mortality and hospital discharge data with the Danish MONICA registryJournal of Clinical Epidemiology, 2003
- Differences in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction by troponin T compared with clinical and epidemiologic criteriaThe American Journal of Cardiology, 2001
- A national record linkage to study acute myocardial infarction incidence and case fatality in SwedenInternational Journal of Epidemiology, 2001
- Myocardial infarction redefined—a consensus document of The Joint European Society of Cardiology/American College of Cardiology committee for the redefinition of myocardial infarctionJournal of the American College of Cardiology, 2000
- Estimation of contribution of changes in coronary care to improving survival, event rates, and coronary heart disease mortality across the WHO MONICA Project populationsThe Lancet, 2000
- Validity of diagnoses of major coronary events in national registers of hospital diagnoses and deaths in FinlandEuropean Journal of Epidemiology, 1997
- Decline of Coronary Heart Disease Mortality in Finland During 1983 to 1992: Roles of Incidence, Recurrence, and Case-FatalityCirculation, 1996