To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many sudden unexpected deaths from epilepsy there were in (a) Shropshire, (b) the West Midlands,(c) England and (d) the UK in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [111667]
I have been asked to reply.The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Owen Paterson, dated 7 May 2003:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many sudden unexpected deaths from epilepsy there were in (a) Shropshire, (b) the West Midlands, (c) England and (d) the UK in each of the last five years for which figures are available (111667).
The figures requested are given in the following table. The total number of deaths with an underlying cause of epilepsy are also provided as context for the number that are "sudden unexpected deaths"
Number of deaths with an underlying cause of epilepsy1 and among those, those where "sudden unexpected death in epilepsy"2 was mentioned on the death certificate, England, West Midlands Government Office Region and Shropshire,3 1997 to 20014
| ||||||
Number of deaths
| ||||||
England
| West Midlands
| Shropshire
| ||||
Year
| All
| Sudden unexpected
| All
| Sudden unexpected
| All
| Sudden unexpected
|
| 1997 | 769 | 54 | 77 | * | * | — |
| 1998 | 789 | 55 | 76 | * | 7 | — |
| 1999 | 819 | 87 | 97 | 5 | 8 | — |
| 2000 | 804 | 97 | 90 | * | 11 | — |
| 2001 | 984 | 149 | 118 | 25 | 9 | * |
| —Zero deaths | ||||||
*Fewer than five deaths | ||||||
1Cause of death selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 345 for the years 1997 to 2000, and, for the year 2001, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes G40 and G41. | ||||||
2Deaths where "sudden unexpected death in epilepsy" or similar wording (e.g. "sudden unexplained death in epilepsy") was written on the death certificate. | ||||||
3Figures relate deaths of usual residents of these areas. Figures for Shropshire are for the former county as they include deaths in Telford and Wrekin which became a unitary authority in 1998. Figures for the United Kingdom are not available. | ||||||
4Figures are for deaths which occurred in these years. | ||||||