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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (Propensity Score) using the Military Health System Data Repository and National Death Index
Published on: January 8, 2020
Using multiple cause-of-death data to investigate associations and causality between conditions listed on the death
Matthew D Redelings1, Matthew Wise, Frank Sorvillo
1Data Collection and Analysis Unit, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA 90012, USA. mredelings@ph.lacounty.gov
Abstract:
Death rarely results from only one cause, and it can be caused by a variety of factors. Multiple cause-of-death data files can list as many as 20 contributing causes of death in addition to the reported underlying cause of death. Analysis of multiple cause-of-death data can provide information on associations between causes of death, revealing common combinations of events or conditions which lead to death. Additionally, physicians report the causal train of events through which they believe that different conditions or events may have led to each other and ultimately caused death. In this paper, the authors discuss methods used in studying associations between reported causes of death and in investigating commonly reported causal pathways between events or conditions listed on the death certificate.
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