Comparing the usefulness of two mortality registries for data-linkage for prospective cohorts in Mexico

Objective. To estimate the sensitivity and specificity of two Mexican death registries for the identification of vital status using a publicly available record-linkage tool. Materials and methods. We selected all reported deaths (n=581) and 575 alive participants in an epidemiologic cohort with active follow-up. Individual records were cross-linked to two mortality registries. Results. A sensitivity of 87.2% (95%CI: 84.7, 90.2) and specificity of 99.3% (95%CI: 98.2, 99.8) were jointly achieved with both registries. Major discrepancies in cause of death were observed in 10.8% of deaths. Conclusion. There is initial evidence that Mexican death registries are a valuable resource for mortality follow-up in epidemiologic studies.