Korean J Leg Med.  2012 Nov;36(2):165-173. 10.7580/KoreanJLegMed.2012.36.2.165.

The Statistical Analysis of Legal Autopsies in 2011 (The Headquarters of National Forensic Service)

Affiliations
  • 1Division of Forensic Medicine, National Forensic Service, Seoul, Korea. sjsme@korea.kr

Abstract

This is a statistical analysis of the data obtained from legal autopsies performed at the headquarters of the National Forensic Service during 2011. This report aims to analyze 2,723 cases. 1. There were 1,995 (73.3%) cases involving mortalities among men and 707 (26.7%) among women; evidently, the number of deaths that occurred among men were twice as many as that among women. With respect to age, 694 (24.4%) deaths occurred in individuals aged in their forties and 658 (22.8%) among those in their fifties. 2. There were 1,437 (52.8%) cases of unnatural deaths, 1,159 (42.5%) cases of natural deaths, and 127 (4.7%) deaths from unknown causes. Among the 1,437 unnatural deaths, 483 (33.6%) were suicidal, 255 (17.7%) homicidal, 546 (38.0%) accidental, and 153 (10.6%) were of undetermined causes. 3. There were 618 cases of trauma-related death, accounting for 43.0% of the 1,437 unnatural deaths. Blunt trauma was the leading cause of trauma-related deaths, accounting for 174 (28.2%) cases. Deaths due to asphyxiation, among which hanging (187 cases, 64.7%) was the predominant cause, accounted for 289 cases. There were 192 (13.4%) deaths from poisoning, 151 (10.5%) from drowning, 139 (9.7%) from thermal injuries, 31 (2.2%) as a complication of medical procedures, and 14 (1.0%) from electrocutions. 4. Among the 1,159 natural deaths, heart diseases accounted for 600 (51.8%) deaths and vascular diseases accounted for 160 (13.8%) deaths. 5. There were 83 cases of death among children aged under 10; out of 33 unnatural deaths, 20 (24.1%) cases were homicidal.

Keyword

autopsy; cause of death; manner of death; statistic

MeSH Terms

Accounting
Aged
Autopsy
Cause of Death
Child
Drowning
Female
Heart Diseases
Humans
Male
Vascular Diseases

Cited by  3 articles

A Statistical Analysis on Forensic Autopsies Performed in Korea in 2016
Ji Hye Park, Joo-Young Na, Bong Woo Lee, Young Shik Choi
Korean J Leg Med. 2018;42(1):8-21.    doi: 10.7580/kjlm.2018.42.1.8.

A Statistical Analysis of Legal Autopsies Performed in Korea in 2014
Jung Sik Jang, Seon Jung Jang, Byung Ha Choi, Han Young Lee, Nak Eun Chung, Joong Seok Seo
Korean J Leg Med. 2015;39(4):99-108.    doi: 10.7580/kjlm.2015.39.4.99.

Analysis of Death due to Poisoning in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do Areas
Woo-Young Choi, Hye-Jeong Kim, Joo-Young Na, Su-Jin Lee, Young-Jik Lee, Jong-Tae Park, Hyung-Seok Kim
Korean J Leg Med. 2016;40(3):72-77.    doi: 10.7580/kjlm.2016.40.3.72.


Reference

1. Korea Medical Record Association. Korea Standard Classification of Disease (KCD). Available from: http://kostat.go.kr/kssc/board_notice/BoardAction.do?method=list&board_id=30&catgrp=kssc&catid1=kssc03&catid2=kssc03d.
2. Hong CE. Pediatrics. 2001. 7th ed. Seoul: Dehan;15–16.
3. Korean Statistical Information Service. Available from: http://kosis.kr/abroad/abroad_01 List.jsp?parentId=D.
4. 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. 68:1050–1057.
5. Lee HY. A statistical observation on medicolegal autopsy in 1997. Korean J Leg Med. 1998. 22:48–51.
6. Lee WT, Cho JH, Ki CD, Kim JK, Kang SM. The statistical analysis on legal autopsy in 2001: the headquarters of National Institute of Scientific Investigation. Korean J Leg Med. 2002. 26(2):1–9.
7. Lee WT, Cho JH, Ki CD, Kim JK, Kang SM. The statistical analysis on legal autopsy in 2002: the headquarters of National Institute of Scientific Investigation. Korean J Leg Med. 2003. 27(2):1–9.
8. Lee WT, Cho WY, Ki CD, Kim JK, Kang SM. The statistical analysis on legal autopsy in 2003: the headquarters of National Institute of Scientific Investigation. Korean J Leg Med. 2004. 28:23–31.
9. Lee WT, Cho WY, Ki CD, Kim JK, Kang SM. The statistical analysis on legal autopsy in 2004 (the headquarters of National Institute of Scientific Investigation). Korean J Leg Med. 2005. 29:121–129.
10. Lee WT, Cho WY, Ki CD, Kim JK, Kang SM. The statistical analysis on legal autopsy in 2005 (the headquarters of National Institute of Scientific Investigation). Korean J Leg Med. 2006. 30:107–115.
11. Lee WT, Cho WY, Ki CD, Kim JK, Kang SM. The statistical analysis on legal autopsy in 2006 (the headquarters of National Institute of Scientific Investigation). Korean J Leg Med. 2007. 31:139–146.
12. Choi MS, 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. 35:130–137.
Full Text Links
  • KJLM
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr