Fifty Years of Death Certificates: The Framingham Heart Study

Editorials15 December 1998Fifty Years of Death Certificates: The Framingham Heart StudyClaude Lenfant, MD, Lawrence Friedman, MD, and Thomas Thom, BAClaude Lenfant, MDNational Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892-2486, Lawrence Friedman, MDNational Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892-2486, and Thomas Thom, BANational Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892-2486Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-129-12-199812150-00013 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Since the Framingham Heart Study enrolled its first patient in 1948, we have learned much about the epidemiology and pathophysiology of the United States' deadliest malady: coronary heart disease. No single medical research effort has contributed more to our increased awareness and understanding of coronary artery disease than the Framingham Heart Study. The hundreds of scientific reports during the past 50 years that have been based on Framingham data have changed not only the way we think about our patients with coronary disease but also how we actually care for them. In this issue, Lloyd-Jones and colleagues [1] suggest that ...References1. Lloyd-Jones DM, Martin DO, Larson MG, Levy D. Accuracy of death certificates for coding coronary heart disease as the cause of death. Ann Intern Med. 1998; 129:1020-6. Google Scholar2. Sirken MG, Rosenberg HM, Chevarley FM, Curtin LR. The quality of cause-of-death statistics [Editorial]. Am J Public Health. 1987; 77:137-9. Google Scholar3. Gittelsohn AM, Royston PN. Annotated Bibliography of Cause-of-Death Validation Studies, 1958-1980. Hyattsville, MD: US Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Services, Office of Health Research, Statistics, and Technology, National Center for Health Statistics; 1982. DHHS publication no. (PHS) 82-1363. Google Scholar4. Kircher T, Anderson RE. 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Trends in CHD mortality, morbidity, and risk factor levels from 1960 to 1986: the Minnesota Heart Survey. Int J Epidemiol. 1989; 18:(3 Suppl 1): S73-81. Google Scholar10. Iribarren C, Crow RS, Hannon PJ, Jacobs DR Jr, Luepker RV. Validation of death certificate diagnosis of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac death. Am J Cardiol. 1998; 82:50-3. Google Scholar11. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital statistics of the United States, 1992, vol. II. Mortality, Part A. Hyattsville, MD: Public Health Service; 1996. Google Scholar12. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Fact Book for Fiscal Year 1997. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health; 1998. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Claude Lenfant, MD; Lawrence Friedman, MD; Thomas Thom, BAAffiliations: National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20892-2486Acknowledgments: The authors thank Teri Manolio, MD; Paul Sorlie, PhD; and Sean Coady.Corresponding Author: Claude Lenfant, MD, National Institutes of Health, Building 31, Room 5A52, 31 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-2486.Current Author Addresses: Dr. Lenfant: National Institutes of Health, Building 31, Room 5A52, 31 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-2486. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAccuracy of Death Certificates for Coding Coronary Heart Disease as the Cause of Death Donald M. Lloyd-Jones , David O. Martin , Martin G. 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