In compiling death data, state health officials lag by years

Cause of death data are needed for shaping public health programmes and deciding priorities.

The health intelligence department office

Staff shortage and the “casual approach” of physicians have crippled the state health intelligence department’s efficacy to pinpoint the leading cause of death in the city in the last two years. In 2011, officials were compiling data for the cause of deaths in 2005-06. This year, it has come to light that ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death in 2009-11.

Cause of death data are needed for shaping public health programmes and deciding priorities. They are vital to clinical and epidemiological research. To ensure physicians do not adopt a casual approach to determining the cause of death, the state health department has issued fresh circulars to 23 municipal corporations, 223 municipal councils, 7 cantonment boards and 345 rural hospitals to ensure a correct coding of medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD).

In the state, MCCD is available at all urban areas as well as rural hospitals and as per Rule 7 of the Maharashtra Registration of Births and Deaths Rules, 2000, it is obligatory to submit medical cause of death to local health officials. The prescribed form 4/4A has to be correctly filled by the physician and cause of death specified as per International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). State health officials said each institution will have to submit the report on number and cause of deaths.

Barring Mumbai, which registered 100 per cent medically certified deaths, no district in the state has done so. In 2009, there were 6,33,206 registered deaths in Maharashtra of which 3,24,768 were deaths categorised in urban areas. The number of medically certified deaths were 2,12,335. In 2010, according to data from state health intelligence department, out of 6, 63 ,383 deaths in Maharashtra, only 2,13,826 were medically certified deaths. In 2011, the number of deaths registered were 6,24,791 out of which 2,15,619 were medically certified deaths. While Mumbai had 1,90,033 medically certified deaths, in Pune, out of 48,505 deaths in 2009 only 21,311 were medically certified ones. In 2010, out of 49,385 deaths, only 19431 were medically certified ones.

When contacted, Dr P S Pawar, Deputy Chief Registrar of Births and Deaths said that an average of 32-33 per cent deaths are medically certified out of the total registered deaths. While Mumbai has a unique system of coding deaths, places like Sangli, Thane, Wardha, Ahmednagar ensure that a minimum of 60 to 70 per cent deaths are medically certified of the total registered deaths.

Officials from the state health intelligence and vital statistics department admitted that there was a paucity of staff and data entry of the records could not be taken up immediately. “We have recruited staff on contract basis and analysed the causes of death from 2009-11. It is a similar trend where ischaemic heart disease and cardiac deaths top the list of causes of deaths and this is followed by infectious diseases,” said Pawar. He said that by March 2015, the data of causes of deaths from 2012 would be compiled.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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