FOI REF: FOI-2023-1270
You asked
How many deaths are recorded in Bristol as a direct result of car emissions? How many deaths are recorded in Bristol as contributed by car emissions?
We said
Thank you for your request.
Causes of death are certified in most cases by a doctor, who records the sequence of medical conditions and relevant events leading to, or contributing to, the death, based on the deceased's healthcare records and other available information, such as laboratory tests or post-mortem investigation. Some deaths are certified by a coroner who determines the causes of death following an inquest, based on all the available evidence. It is unusual for wider contextual factors such as exposure to pollution or air quality to be recorded among the causes of death.
One death in England and Wales in the period 2001 to 2021 had exposure to air pollution (International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision (ICD-10) code Z581) recorded on the death certificate. This death was not registered in the Bristol area.
Finalised data for 2022 will be published in October/November 2023 as part of the Deaths Registered Series to allow the inclusion of late registrations, which are deaths referred for Coroner investigation.
It may be more informative to consider epidemiological studies which estimate numbers or proportions of incidence and deaths which can be attributed to exposure to pollution or poor air quality. A number of reports have been published by Public Health England (now the UK Health Security Agency) on different aspects of air pollution and health. If you wish to discuss this report, please contact the UKHSA directly.