Spotlight on Longevity June 2015: Allowing for coding changes in cause of death data

Considering mortality improvements by cause of death can provide insight into current and future trends, such as the recent dominance of circulatory disease as a driver of improvements.

The way that deaths by cause are recorded has changed several times and it is important to recognise these changes to avoid spurious or misleading conclusions. With further changes to coding imminent, we have considered ways to allow for this.

Our Longevity services team produces regular commentaries on topical issues in the management and transfer of longevity risk known as 'Spotlight on Longevity'.

To obtain copies of Spotlights, or for more information, please contact the author.