Mortality and causes of death

The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD–10), is used to classify diseases and other health problems on many types of health and vital records, as well as death certificates. What is shown in the statistics is the underlying cause of death. The World Health Organization (WHO) has drawn up guidelines for the choice of underlying cause of death, i.e. the disease or injury that initiated the chain of morbid events which led directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced the fatal injury.