Diabetes mortality and causes of death in Benghazi: a 5-year retrospective analysis of death certificates

A retrospective study of death certificates from 2000 to 2004 was made to estimate the contribution of diabetes to total mortality in Benghazi, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, and to study the causes of death among diabetics (coded using the International Classification of Diseases). Of 12 237 death certificates, 1482 (12.1%) mentioned diabetes. Of these, diabetes was recorded as the underlying cause in 5.1% of deaths and a contributory cause in 94.9%. The most frequent single causes of death for diabetics were: coronary artery disease (32.7%), cerebrovascular accident (20.1%), infections (14.0%), malignancies (7.7%), acute complications of diabetes (7.3%) and chronic renal failure (6.6%). Among multiple causes of death, circulatory diseases were mentioned on 46.2% of death certificates.