FOI Ref: FOI/2022/3886
You asked
Please supply the total number of deaths in England and Wales for 2018-2021 inclusive, that were not from COVID-19 and which had no underlying causes. For the same time period, please supply the total number of deaths attributed to the flu for which there were no underlying causes.
We said
Thank you for your enquiry.
Unfortunately, we do not hold analysis of total deaths from all causes, or deaths due to flu, where no other condition was mentioned on the death certificate.
We only publish analysis of deaths where no pre-existing condition was recorded for deaths due to COVID-19. This information is available in our monthly mortality analysis publication. You can access the dataset here.
Health conditions are recorded on the death certificate only if the certifying doctor or coroner believed they made some contribution to the death, direct or indirect. The death certificate does not include all health conditions from which the deceased might have suffered if they were not considered relevant.
The death certificate (Annex A (PDF, 224KB)) used in England and Wales is compatible with that recommended by WHO. It is set out in two parts. Part I gives the condition or sequence of conditions leading directly to death, while Part II gives details of any associated conditions that contributed to the death but are not part of the causal sequence.
We can can create a custom output if you require. Special extracts and tabulations of mortality data for England and Wales are available to order (subject to legal frameworks, disclosure control, resources and agreements of costs, where appropriate). Such enquiries would fall outside of the Freedom of Information regime and should be made to: Health.Data@ons.gov.uk.
Total numbers of deaths registered in England and Wales for 2021 and 2022 are available in our latest weekly deaths publication. This includes deaths from all causes and deaths due to or involving respiratory disease, flu & pneumonia, and COVID-19. The dataset is available here.
We use the term "due to" a cause of death (e.g., influenza) when referring only to deaths with that underlying (main) cause of death. We use the team "involving" when referring to all deaths that had the cause mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, whether as an underlying cause or contributory factor. Deaths due to a particular cause could still have other conditions mentioned on the death certificate it doesn't necessarily mean that the underlying cause was the sole condition.
Deaths registered in England and Wales for the period 2001 to 2020, by sex, age group and underlying cause, are available in our Deaths Registered Series and via NOMIS interactive webservice.
If you wish to discuss this request further, please contact Health.Data@ons.gov.uk.