Annals of Epidemiology
Volume 11, Issue 5 , Pages 286-291, July 2001

Assessment of Vital Status in Department of Veterans Affairs National Databases:

Comparison with State Death Certificates

  • Jason A Dominitz, MD, MHS

      Affiliations

    • Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA USA
    • Veterans' Administration Epidemiologic Research and Information Center, Seattle, WA USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress reprint requests to: Jason A. Dominitz, MD, MHS, VAPSHCS, 111-S-Gastro, 1660 S. Columbian Way, Seattle, WA 98108-1597
    • ,
  • Charles Maynard, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Veterans' Administration Epidemiologic Research and Information Center, Seattle, WA USA
    • Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, WA USA
    • ,
  • Edward J Boyko, MD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA USA
    • Veterans' Administration Epidemiologic Research and Information Center, Seattle, WA USA

Received 23 June 2000; received in revised form 9 November 2000; accepted 13 November 2000.

Abstract 

PURPOSE: To determine the extent to which Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) database vital status information agrees with Washington state death certificates.

METHODS: Using each data source, vital status was determined for 19,481 Washington state resident veterans hospitalized in Washington VA hospitals from 1994 to 1997, and for 33,602 Washington state resident veterans who were seen as outpatients during 1997.

RESULTS: The agreement between VA and Washington state records was excellent for hospitalized veterans (kappa = 0.91, p < 0.0001). Three thousand one hundred-eight individuals (86.2% of all deaths) appeared in both files. Of those deaths missing in the VA files, 71% had no service-connected disability, VA pension, or other compensation. Among outpatients, agreement between the death files was very good (kappa = 0.82, p < 0.001). Three hundred seventy-two individuals (69.8% of all deaths) appeared in both files. Of those deaths missing in the VA files, 63% had no service-connected disability or VA pension or other compensation.

CONCLUSIONS: The VA death files are a valid source of vital status information for veterans hospitalized in recent years. For veterans having exclusively outpatient visits, however, the VA files miss a substantial proportion of deaths. For these patients, alternative means of vital status ascertainment are warranted.

Keywords:  Databases, Death Certificate, Mortality, Veterans, Vital Statistics

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PII: S1047-2797(01)00211-3

Annals of Epidemiology
Volume 11, Issue 5 , Pages 286-291, July 2001

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