A quarter century of decline of autopsies in the Netherlands

Objective Autopsy rates have been declining worldwide. The present study reports the outcome of a retrospective analysis of all non-forensic autopsies in the Netherlands over a course of 25 years, and compares these with the most recent Dutch study. Method Retrospectively, 25 years of data on clinic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of epidemiology 2019-12, Vol.34 (12), p.1171-1174
Main Authors: Latten, Bartholomeus G. H., Overbeek, Lucy I. H., Kubat, Bela, Hausen, Axel zur, Schouten, Leo J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age
Aged
Autopsies
Autopsy
Autopsy - statistics & numerical data
Autopsy - trends
Cardiology
Cause of Death
Child, Preschool
Cytopathology
Epidemiology
Female
Forensic Medicine - statistics & numerical data
Forensic Medicine - trends
Forensic science
Hospital Mortality
Humans
Infant
Infectious Diseases
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Middle Aged
Netherlands
Oncology
Prevalence
Public Health
Retrospective Studies
Statistical analysis
Young Adult
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Summary:Objective Autopsy rates have been declining worldwide. The present study reports the outcome of a retrospective analysis of all non-forensic autopsies in the Netherlands over a course of 25 years, and compares these with the most recent Dutch study. Method Retrospectively, 25 years of data on clinical autopsies from the Nationwide Network and Registry of Histo- and Cytopathology in the Netherlands (PALGA) was paired with the mortality registry (Statistics Netherlands). Results The crude prevalence of autopsies declined from 7.07% in 1991 to 2.73% in 2015. After adjusting for age at death, there was no difference in autopsy rate between males and females. An increasing age significantly decreased the autopsy rate. Conclusion In the Netherlands, clinical autopsies have been declining over the last quarter century. Age at death, but not sex, was associated with the autopsy rate. These different results stress the importance of correct collection and analysis methods of data.
ISSN:0393-2990
1573-7284
DOI:10.1007/s10654-019-00572-9