The cause of death statistics provide information on mortality trends and causes of death and stillbirth in Switzerland. They allow us to draw important conclusions on the health of the population over time and to indicate preventive or curative measures that are likely to extend the life expectancy of the population.
Surveys
Since 1995, the classification of causes of death in Switzerland has been based on the World Health Organisation's (WHO) international statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, 10th reSince 1995, the classification of causes of death in Switzerland has been based on the World Health Organisation's (WHO) international statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, 10th revision (ICD-10) . The ICD-10 came into force on 1 January 1993. The first classification of causes of death dates back to the 18th century; international cooperation on the subject started to develop from the middle of the 19th century; since World War II, the classification has been regularly revised under the auspices of the WHO.
ICD-10 uses alphanumeric codes with four characters (one letter and three digits) and is comprised of three volumes. Volume I (tabular list) contains the hierarchical classification listed below, volume II an instruction manual for international coding and volume III an alphabetic index. ICD-10 is divided into 22 chapters according to the following plan: diseases not classified by system are described first. These are followed by diseases by system, then by conditions related to certain times of life (pregnancy, perinatal period, congenital disease). One chapter is dedicated to abnormal results from clinical examination or laboratory tests. These are followed by external causes of death. The two final chapters concern various factors (unclassifiable in the preceding chapters) that can lead to a medical consultation, as well as codes for special use (e.g. new diseases of uncertain aetiology or drug resistance).
Chapter |
Structure |
Title |
---|---|---|
I |
A00-B99 |
Certain infectious and parasitic diseases |
II |
C00-D48 |
Cancers |
III |
D50-D89 |
Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism |
IV |
E00-E90 |
Diseases of thyroid gland, nutritional and metabolic disorders |
V |
F00-F99 |
Mental and behavioural disorders |
VI |
G00-G99 |
Diseases of the nervous system |
VII |
H00-H59 |
Diseases of the eye and adnexa |
VIII |
H60-H95 |
Diseases of the ear and mastoid process |
IX |
I00-I99 |
Diseases of the circulatory system |
X |
J00-J99 |
Diseases of the respiratory system |
XI |
K00-K93 |
Diseases of the digestive system |
XII |
L00-L99 |
Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue |
XIII |
M00-M99 |
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue |
XIV |
N00-N99 |
Diseases of the genitourinary system |
XV |
O00-O99 |
Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium |
XVI |
P00-P96 |
Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period |
XVII |
Q00-Q99 |
Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities |
XVIII |
R00-R99 |
Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified |
XIX |
S00-T98 |
Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes |
XX |
V01-Y98 |
Sequelae of external causes of morbidity and mortality |
XXI |
Z00-Z99 |
Factors influencing health status and contact with health services |
XXII |
U00-U99 |
Codes for special purposes |
The Swiss statistics on cause of death have been kept since 1876. They are governed by the Swiss Civil Code of 10 December 1907 and by the Federal Statistics Act (FStatA) of 9 October 1992. This Act forms the basis for the Ordinance of 30 June 1993 regarding the conduct of federal statistical surveys, by virtue of which the Federal Statistical Office produces the deaths and cause of death statistics. Survey participation is compulsory and without compensation. The Federal Statistical Office produces the statistics in cooperation with civil registrars, doctors and the Directorate of Political Affairs of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.
The statistics are subject to the provisions set out in the Federal Act on Data Protection of 19 June 1992.
Contact
Federal Statistical Office Sections Health Services, Population HealthEspace de l'Europe 10
CH-2010 Neuchâtel
Switzerland
- Tel.
- +41 58 463 67 00
Monday to Friday
10.00–12.00 and 14.00–17.00