Abstract
INTRODUCTION: At 2.7% in 1970, the Danish medico-legal autopsy frequency was lower than recent frequencies observed in the Nordic countries (4-24%). The aim of this study was to analyse trends in the number and frequency of Danish medico-legal autopsies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data were collected from the computerized archives in the Danish departments of forensic medicine, Statistics Denmark and the Danish National Board of Health. RESULTS: During the 1996-2005 study period, a total of 14,990 medico-legal autopsies were performed. This yielded a medico-legal autopsy frequency of between 2.4% and 2.8%. Our results revealed a certain constancy in the number of medico-legal autopsies and frequency of autopsy with regard to manner of death, sex and number, but we also observed changes in the age composition which involved a decrease in the proportion of young (20-39 years) and an increase in the proportion of middle-aged persons (40-59 years). CONCLUSION: Denmark has a lower autopsy frequency than other Nordic countries and this may constitute a problem for quality of death-statistics and research based on autopsy results. If the patterns in medico-legal autopsy frequencies continue, a decrease in the number of medicolegal autopsies is to be expected. As a consequence, education and training of forensic pathologists may be impaired.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Danish Medical Bulletin (Online) |
| Volume | 58 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Pages (from-to) | A4247 |
| ISSN | 1603-9629 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2011 |
Keywords
- Autopsy
- Denmark
- Female
- Forensic Medicine
- Humans
- Male
- Retrospective Studies