FOI Ref: FOI/2021/3309
You asked
Please supply the number of fatalities resulting in sudden adult death syndrome during the past five years.
We said
Thank you for your enquiry regarding Sudden Adult Deaths for the past five years.
All of the conditions mentioned on the death certificate are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) the coded mortality data available up to end of December 2019 is coded to version 2014 of the ICD10 framework. From all of these causes an underlying cause of death is selected using ICD-10 coding rules. The underlying cause of death is defined by World Health Organisation (WHO) as:
a) the disease or injury that initiated the train of events directly leading to death, or
b) the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced the fatal injury
In England and Wales, deaths where "Sudden Adult Death Syndrome" or "Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome" are mentioned on the death certificate are recorded with an ICD-10 code of R96 or I49.9 respectively.
A death certificate of an infant (under 1 year old) which mentions "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome" are coded with ICD-10 code R95.
Sudden Cardiac Death is recorded with an ICD-19 code of I46.1.
Table showing total deaths: I46.1 Sudden cardiac death, so described
| Age | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| total (all ages) | 58 | 43 | 31 | 43 | 44 |
| Aged under 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aged 1 to 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aged 5 to 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aged 10-14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aged 15-19 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Aged 20-24 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Aged 25-29 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Aged 30-34 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 5 |
| Aged 35-39 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Aged 40-44 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Aged 45-49 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Aged 50-54 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Aged 55-59 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Aged 60-64 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Aged 65-69 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Aged 70-74 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Aged 75-79 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Aged 80-84 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Aged 85-89 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Aged 90 and over | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Download this table
.xls .csv
| Age | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| total (all ages) | 70 | 34 | 39 | 64 | 95 |
| Aged under 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Aged 1 to 4 | 1 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 12 |
| Aged 5 to 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Aged 10-14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Aged 15-19 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Aged 20-24 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 11 |
| Aged 25-29 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 7 |
| Aged 30-34 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 12 |
| Aged 35-39 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 11 |
| Aged 40-44 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| Aged 45-49 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| Aged 50-54 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| Aged 55-59 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Aged 60-64 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Aged 65-69 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Aged 70-74 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Aged 75-79 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Aged 80-84 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Aged 85-89 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aged 90 and over | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Download this table Table showing total deaths: R96 Other sudden death, cause unknown
.xls .csvThis is also published as part of our 21st century mortality, which contains all-cause mortality data by ICD code, age and sex, 2001-2020, England and Wales. You can filter on 'column A' for each year and filter on ICD-10 R96, I49.9 and I46.1
If the NOMIS output or 21st Century Mortality does not meet your needs or if you would like to request 2021 which is not yet published, we can create this data as a bespoke request for you. 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).
These enquiries fall outside of the Freedom of Information regime and should be made to: Health.Data@ons.gov.uk.