Non-Violent Deaths Among Different Age Groups in Local Population - Autopsy Findings of Male Adults

Abstract

Objective: To determine the burden of non-violent deaths (sudden unexpected natural death) and its etiological comparison with different age groups in a local population autopsy findings ofmale adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2015 to December 201 6at Tertiary Care Hospital of Peoples Medical College Hospital, Nawabshah, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sindh, on 93autopsied males between the periods of two years from January 2015 to December 2016. To observe and compare the frequency of non-v iolent deaths among different age groups at a Tertiary Care Hospital of Peoples Medical College Hospital, Nawabshah, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sindh. Ethical consent was taken from family member and hospital before doing autopsy and use of its findings for study purpose. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the objective specific data and we used SPSS version 17 for data entry and analysis. Results: 41.93% (n= 39)was found as non-violent deaths observed among all 93 autopsies performed. The overall mean age of patients on whom autopsies were performed 41.49 years with minimum age of 15 years and maximum age 60 years. The most common cause of sudden unexpected natural death was due to cardiovascular disease (53.84%, n = 21) while deaths due to diseases of central nervous system (25.64%, n = 10), respiratory system diseases (15.38%, n = 6), and others were (5.12%, N = 2), respectively. The most common age group was middle aged group (>31 45 years) in which non-violent deaths were observed (35.89%. n = 14). Conclusion: The percentage ofnon-violent autopsies is commonly seen in middle aged group, in which cardiovascular cause predominate the other causes of sudden unexpected natural deaths.The findings of this study have provided the scientific ground for the preventive measures for clinicians as well as general population to decrease the morbidity and mortality ofnon-violent deaths.