Clinical characteristics among autopsied witnessed and unwitnessed sudden cardiac death cases aged 1–35 years in 2000–09 and 36–49 years in 2007–09
| Clinical characteristics and medical history . | All autopsied SCDa (n = 414) . | Witnessed autopsied SCD (n = 178) . | Unwitnessed autopsied SCD (n = 236) . | P-value* . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, median, years (Q1–Q3) | 28 (20–33) | 27 (18–33) | 28 (21–32) | 0.567 |
| Males | 28 (20–33) | 27.5 (18.5–33) | 28 (22–32) | 0.230 |
| Females | 27 (20.5–33) | 26.5 (18–32) | 28 (21–33) | 0.355 |
| Males, n (%) | 282 (68) | 116 (65) | 166 (70) | 0.264 |
| Comorbidity,bn (%) | ||||
| Psychiatric diseases | 72 (17) | 20 (11) | 52 (22) | 0.004 |
| Cardiovascular diseases | 35 (8) | 15 (8) | 20 (8) | 0.986 |
| Heart failure | 19 (5) | 9 (5) | 10 (4) | 0.693 |
| Arrhythmia | 20 (5) | 9 (5) | 11 (5) | 0.853 |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 9 (2) | 2 (1) | 7 (3) | 0.203 |
| Neurologic diseases | 40 (10) | 16 (9) | 24 (10) | 0.687 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 13 (3) | 3 (2) | 10 (4) | 0.141 |
| Cerebrovascular diseases | 4 (1) | 4 (2) | 0 0 | 0.021 |
| Renal diseases | 3 (1) | 2 (1) | 1 (0.4) | 0.406 |
| PVD | 1 (0.2) | 1 (1) | 0 0 | 0.249 |
| Malignant diseases | 2 (0.5) | 2 (1) | 0 0 | 0.103 |
| Liver diseases | 4 (1) | 2 (1) | 2 (1) | 0.776 |
| Rheumatic disease | 3 (1) | 3 (2) | 0 0 | 0.045 |
| Household income,cn (%) | (n = 360) | (n = 151) | (n = 209) | |
| Low | 132 (37) | 52 (34) | 80 (38) | 0.396 |
| Medium | 118 (33) | 47 (31) | 71 (34) | |
| High | 110 (31) | 52 (34) | 58 (28) | |
| Place of death, n (%) | (n = 413) | (n = 177) | (n = 236) | <0.001 |
| Home | 266 (64) | 101 (57) | 165 (70) | |
| Public place | 101 (24) | 49 (28) | 52 (22) | |
| Hospital | 34 (8) | 25 (14) | 9 (4) | |
| Other | 12 (3) | 2 (1) | 10 (4) | |
| Activity at death, n (%) | (n = 400) | (n = 173) | (n = 227) | |
| Awake and relaxed | 192 (48) | 105 (61) | 87 (38) | |
| Sleep | 152 (38) | 37 (21) | 115 (51) | |
| Moderate to high intensity activity | 44 (11) | 23 (13) | 21 (9) | <0.001 |
| Other | 12 (3) | 8 (5) | 4 (2) | |
| External examinationd | 389 (96) | 161 (94) | 228 (97) | 0.078 |
| Clinical characteristics and medical history . | All autopsied SCDa (n = 414) . | Witnessed autopsied SCD (n = 178) . | Unwitnessed autopsied SCD (n = 236) . | P-value* . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, median, years (Q1–Q3) | 28 (20–33) | 27 (18–33) | 28 (21–32) | 0.567 |
| Males | 28 (20–33) | 27.5 (18.5–33) | 28 (22–32) | 0.230 |
| Females | 27 (20.5–33) | 26.5 (18–32) | 28 (21–33) | 0.355 |
| Males, n (%) | 282 (68) | 116 (65) | 166 (70) | 0.264 |
| Comorbidity,bn (%) | ||||
| Psychiatric diseases | 72 (17) | 20 (11) | 52 (22) | 0.004 |
| Cardiovascular diseases | 35 (8) | 15 (8) | 20 (8) | 0.986 |
| Heart failure | 19 (5) | 9 (5) | 10 (4) | 0.693 |
| Arrhythmia | 20 (5) | 9 (5) | 11 (5) | 0.853 |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 9 (2) | 2 (1) | 7 (3) | 0.203 |
| Neurologic diseases | 40 (10) | 16 (9) | 24 (10) | 0.687 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 13 (3) | 3 (2) | 10 (4) | 0.141 |
| Cerebrovascular diseases | 4 (1) | 4 (2) | 0 0 | 0.021 |
| Renal diseases | 3 (1) | 2 (1) | 1 (0.4) | 0.406 |
| PVD | 1 (0.2) | 1 (1) | 0 0 | 0.249 |
| Malignant diseases | 2 (0.5) | 2 (1) | 0 0 | 0.103 |
| Liver diseases | 4 (1) | 2 (1) | 2 (1) | 0.776 |
| Rheumatic disease | 3 (1) | 3 (2) | 0 0 | 0.045 |
| Household income,cn (%) | (n = 360) | (n = 151) | (n = 209) | |
| Low | 132 (37) | 52 (34) | 80 (38) | 0.396 |
| Medium | 118 (33) | 47 (31) | 71 (34) | |
| High | 110 (31) | 52 (34) | 58 (28) | |
| Place of death, n (%) | (n = 413) | (n = 177) | (n = 236) | <0.001 |
| Home | 266 (64) | 101 (57) | 165 (70) | |
| Public place | 101 (24) | 49 (28) | 52 (22) | |
| Hospital | 34 (8) | 25 (14) | 9 (4) | |
| Other | 12 (3) | 2 (1) | 10 (4) | |
| Activity at death, n (%) | (n = 400) | (n = 173) | (n = 227) | |
| Awake and relaxed | 192 (48) | 105 (61) | 87 (38) | |
| Sleep | 152 (38) | 37 (21) | 115 (51) | |
| Moderate to high intensity activity | 44 (11) | 23 (13) | 21 (9) | <0.001 |
| Other | 12 (3) | 8 (5) | 4 (2) | |
| External examinationd | 389 (96) | 161 (94) | 228 (97) | 0.078 |
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. PVD, peripheral vascular disease. SUD, sudden unexplained death.
All sudden cardiac death cases with information on whether the death was witnessed.
Treatment at hospital up to 10 years before death.
Household income was assessed using the average household income, calculated over a period of 5 years prior to death, and divided into tertiles (low, medium, and high).
Missing information in eight cases.
P-value for differences between witnessed and unwitnessed SCD cases.
Clinical characteristics among autopsied witnessed and unwitnessed sudden cardiac death cases aged 1–35 years in 2000–09 and 36–49 years in 2007–09
| Clinical characteristics and medical history . | All autopsied SCDa (n = 414) . | Witnessed autopsied SCD (n = 178) . | Unwitnessed autopsied SCD (n = 236) . | P-value* . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, median, years (Q1–Q3) | 28 (20–33) | 27 (18–33) | 28 (21–32) | 0.567 |
| Males | 28 (20–33) | 27.5 (18.5–33) | 28 (22–32) | 0.230 |
| Females | 27 (20.5–33) | 26.5 (18–32) | 28 (21–33) | 0.355 |
| Males, n (%) | 282 (68) | 116 (65) | 166 (70) | 0.264 |
| Comorbidity,bn (%) | ||||
| Psychiatric diseases | 72 (17) | 20 (11) | 52 (22) | 0.004 |
| Cardiovascular diseases | 35 (8) | 15 (8) | 20 (8) | 0.986 |
| Heart failure | 19 (5) | 9 (5) | 10 (4) | 0.693 |
| Arrhythmia | 20 (5) | 9 (5) | 11 (5) | 0.853 |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 9 (2) | 2 (1) | 7 (3) | 0.203 |
| Neurologic diseases | 40 (10) | 16 (9) | 24 (10) | 0.687 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 13 (3) | 3 (2) | 10 (4) | 0.141 |
| Cerebrovascular diseases | 4 (1) | 4 (2) | 0 0 | 0.021 |
| Renal diseases | 3 (1) | 2 (1) | 1 (0.4) | 0.406 |
| PVD | 1 (0.2) | 1 (1) | 0 0 | 0.249 |
| Malignant diseases | 2 (0.5) | 2 (1) | 0 0 | 0.103 |
| Liver diseases | 4 (1) | 2 (1) | 2 (1) | 0.776 |
| Rheumatic disease | 3 (1) | 3 (2) | 0 0 | 0.045 |
| Household income,cn (%) | (n = 360) | (n = 151) | (n = 209) | |
| Low | 132 (37) | 52 (34) | 80 (38) | 0.396 |
| Medium | 118 (33) | 47 (31) | 71 (34) | |
| High | 110 (31) | 52 (34) | 58 (28) | |
| Place of death, n (%) | (n = 413) | (n = 177) | (n = 236) | <0.001 |
| Home | 266 (64) | 101 (57) | 165 (70) | |
| Public place | 101 (24) | 49 (28) | 52 (22) | |
| Hospital | 34 (8) | 25 (14) | 9 (4) | |
| Other | 12 (3) | 2 (1) | 10 (4) | |
| Activity at death, n (%) | (n = 400) | (n = 173) | (n = 227) | |
| Awake and relaxed | 192 (48) | 105 (61) | 87 (38) | |
| Sleep | 152 (38) | 37 (21) | 115 (51) | |
| Moderate to high intensity activity | 44 (11) | 23 (13) | 21 (9) | <0.001 |
| Other | 12 (3) | 8 (5) | 4 (2) | |
| External examinationd | 389 (96) | 161 (94) | 228 (97) | 0.078 |
| Clinical characteristics and medical history . | All autopsied SCDa (n = 414) . | Witnessed autopsied SCD (n = 178) . | Unwitnessed autopsied SCD (n = 236) . | P-value* . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, median, years (Q1–Q3) | 28 (20–33) | 27 (18–33) | 28 (21–32) | 0.567 |
| Males | 28 (20–33) | 27.5 (18.5–33) | 28 (22–32) | 0.230 |
| Females | 27 (20.5–33) | 26.5 (18–32) | 28 (21–33) | 0.355 |
| Males, n (%) | 282 (68) | 116 (65) | 166 (70) | 0.264 |
| Comorbidity,bn (%) | ||||
| Psychiatric diseases | 72 (17) | 20 (11) | 52 (22) | 0.004 |
| Cardiovascular diseases | 35 (8) | 15 (8) | 20 (8) | 0.986 |
| Heart failure | 19 (5) | 9 (5) | 10 (4) | 0.693 |
| Arrhythmia | 20 (5) | 9 (5) | 11 (5) | 0.853 |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 9 (2) | 2 (1) | 7 (3) | 0.203 |
| Neurologic diseases | 40 (10) | 16 (9) | 24 (10) | 0.687 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 13 (3) | 3 (2) | 10 (4) | 0.141 |
| Cerebrovascular diseases | 4 (1) | 4 (2) | 0 0 | 0.021 |
| Renal diseases | 3 (1) | 2 (1) | 1 (0.4) | 0.406 |
| PVD | 1 (0.2) | 1 (1) | 0 0 | 0.249 |
| Malignant diseases | 2 (0.5) | 2 (1) | 0 0 | 0.103 |
| Liver diseases | 4 (1) | 2 (1) | 2 (1) | 0.776 |
| Rheumatic disease | 3 (1) | 3 (2) | 0 0 | 0.045 |
| Household income,cn (%) | (n = 360) | (n = 151) | (n = 209) | |
| Low | 132 (37) | 52 (34) | 80 (38) | 0.396 |
| Medium | 118 (33) | 47 (31) | 71 (34) | |
| High | 110 (31) | 52 (34) | 58 (28) | |
| Place of death, n (%) | (n = 413) | (n = 177) | (n = 236) | <0.001 |
| Home | 266 (64) | 101 (57) | 165 (70) | |
| Public place | 101 (24) | 49 (28) | 52 (22) | |
| Hospital | 34 (8) | 25 (14) | 9 (4) | |
| Other | 12 (3) | 2 (1) | 10 (4) | |
| Activity at death, n (%) | (n = 400) | (n = 173) | (n = 227) | |
| Awake and relaxed | 192 (48) | 105 (61) | 87 (38) | |
| Sleep | 152 (38) | 37 (21) | 115 (51) | |
| Moderate to high intensity activity | 44 (11) | 23 (13) | 21 (9) | <0.001 |
| Other | 12 (3) | 8 (5) | 4 (2) | |
| External examinationd | 389 (96) | 161 (94) | 228 (97) | 0.078 |
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. PVD, peripheral vascular disease. SUD, sudden unexplained death.
All sudden cardiac death cases with information on whether the death was witnessed.
Treatment at hospital up to 10 years before death.
Household income was assessed using the average household income, calculated over a period of 5 years prior to death, and divided into tertiles (low, medium, and high).
Missing information in eight cases.
P-value for differences between witnessed and unwitnessed SCD cases.
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