| A Statistical Analysis of Legal Autopsies Performed in Korea in 2014. |
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Jung Sik Jang, Seon Jung Jang, Byung Ha Choi, Han Young Lee, Nak Eun Chung, Joong Seok Seo |
1Medical Examiner's Office, National Forensic Service, Wonju, Korea. drjangjungsik@gmail.com
2Division of Forensic Medicine Investigation, National Forensic Service Seoul Institute, Seoul, Korea.
3National Forensic Service, Wonju, Korea. |
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| Abstract |
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Medicolegal autopsies are a vital tool for obtaining reliable injury mortality data. This study statistically analyzed the data obtained from medicolegal autopsies performed in Korea in 2014. A total of 5,324 deaths were analyzed by sex, age, manner of death, and cause of death. With respect to the manner of death, 56.3% were recorded as unnatural deaths, 38.4% were natural deaths, and 5.3% had unknown causes. Of the 2,998 unnatural deaths, 41.0% were determined to be accidental deaths; 28.1%, suicidal; 16.1%, homicidal; and 14.8%, undetermined. Of the total number of unnatural deaths, 38.8% were trauma-related, wherein falls accounted for 32.7%. Asphyxiation accounted for 16.3% of unnatural deaths; of these, the predominant cause was hanging (59.4%). In addition, 15.0% of the unnatural deaths were due to drowning; 14.8%, poisoning; 11.3%, thermal injuries; 2.5%, complications arising from medical procedures; and 0.4%, electrocution, starvation, or neglect. Among the 2,042 natural deaths, heart diseases accounted for 49.0% and vascular diseases accounted for 17.3%. Of the 170 deaths among children under the age of 10, 38.8% were recorded as unnatural deaths, 54.1% were natural deaths, and 7.1% had unknown causes. |
| Key Words:
Autopsy, Cause of death, Data interpretation, statistical, Korea |
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