Korean J Leg Med.  2015 Nov;39(4):99-108. 10.7580/kjlm.2015.39.4.99.

A Statistical Analysis of Legal Autopsies Performed in Korea in 2014

• Jang JS
• Jang SJ
• Choi BH
• Lee HY
• Chung NE
• Seo JS

• KMID: 2130853
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2015.39.4.99

Abstract

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.

Keyword

Autopsy; Cause of death; Data interpretation, statistical; Korea

MeSH Terms

Autopsy*
Cause of Death
Child
Data Interpretation, Statistical
Drowning
Heart Diseases
Humans
Korea*
Mortality
Poisoning
Starvation
Vascular Diseases

Reference

1. Kang DY, Kang HW, Kwak JS, et al. A textbook of legal medicine. Seoul: Jungmungak;1995. 14.

2. Lee HY. A statistical obsevation on medicolegal autopsy in 1977. Korean J Leg Med. 1998; 22:48–51.

3. Lee WT, Cho JH, Ki CD, et al. The statistical analysis on legal autopsy in 2001: the headquarters of National Institute of Scientific Investigation. Korean J Leg Med. 2002; 26:1–9.

4. Lee WT, Cho JH, Ki CD, et al. The statistical analysis on legal autopsy in 2002: the headquarters of National Institute of Scientific Investigation. Korean J Leg Med. 2003; 27:1–9.

5. Lee WT, Cho WY, Ki CD, et al. The statistical analysis on legal autopsy in 2003: the headquarters of National Institute of Scientific Investigation. Korean J Leg Med. 2004; 28:23–31.

6. Lee WT, Cho WY, Ki CD, et al. The statistical analysis on legal autopsy in 2004 (the headquarters of National Institute of Scientific Investigation). Korean J Leg Med. 2005; 29:121–9.

7. Lee WT, Cho WY, Ki CD, et al. A statistical analysis on legal autopsy in 2005 (the headquarters of National Institute of Scientific Investigation). Korean J Leg Med. 2006; 30:107–15.

8. Lee WT, Cho WY, Ki CD, et al. The statistical analysis on legal autopsy in 2006 (the headquarters of National Institute of Scientific Investigation). Korean J Leg Med. 2007; 31:139–46.

9. Choi M, Park JH, Lee HY, et al. The statistical analysis on legal autopsy in 2010 (the headquarters of National Forensic Service). Korean J Leg Med. 2011; 35:130–7.

10. Na JY, Park JP, Choi MS, et al. The statistical analysis of legal autopsies in 2011 (the headquarters of National Forensic Service). Korean J Leg Med. 2012; 36:165–73.

11. Na JY, Min BW, Lee YJ, et al. The statistical analysis on the legal autopsy cases in Gwangju and Chonnam area of Korea in 2007 and 2008. Korean J Leg Med. 2009; 33:32–9.

12. Na JY, Park JP, Park HJ, et al. The statistical analysis on legal autopsy performed in Korea during 2012 year. Korean J Leg Med. 2013; 37:198–207.

13. Jang SJ, Park JP, Choi BH, et al. The statistical analysis on legal autopsy performed in Korea during 2013 year. Korean J Leg Med. 2014; 38:145–54.

14. Korea Standard Classification of Disease (KCD) [Internet]. Daejeon: Statistics Korea; [cited 2015 Oct 1]. Available from:. http://kostat.go.kr.

15. Hong CE. Pediatrics. 7th ed.Seoul: Daehan Printing and Publishing Co.;2001. p. 15–6.

16. Korean Statistical Information Service [Internet]. Daejeon: Korean Statistical Information Service; [cited 2015 Oct 1]. Available from:. http://kosis.kr/.

17. Korean National Police Agency [Internet]. Seoul: National Police Agency. Available from:. http://www.police.go.kr/.

18. Kapusta ND, Tran US, Rockett IR, et al. Declining autopsy rates and suicide misclassification: a cross-national analysis of 35 countries. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011; 68:1050–7.

19. Na JY, Min BW, Lee YJ, et al. The discrepancy of the causes of death between medical death certificates and autopsy reports. Korean J Leg Med. 2009; 33:10–8.

20. Huh GY, Kim KH, Jo GR, et al. Differences in the determination of cause and manner of 127 natural death cases by postmortem inspection and autopsy. Korean J Leg Med. 2013; 37:9–13.