I would be willing to put a large sum on the premise that a lot of the things we think we know are completely false. Crime statistics come to mind right off the bat...

https://www.mystatesman.com/ne...3kROhGr7IrBEQB4aWnK/

Study: Number of Texas women dying in childbirth was overreported

A startling data point that showed Texas had the highest maternal mortality rate in the nation in 2012 and prompted increased legislative focus on the issue last year was actually incorrect, according to a study published Monday.
A 2016 study published in the medical journal Obstetrics and Gynecology said that in 2012, Texas reported that 147 women died during pregnancy or up to 42 days after delivery. The same journal on Monday released a new study by Texas Department of State Health Services researchers who say the number of maternal deaths that year was much lower — 56.

“Other academic research has shown issues with the quality of death data, nationally,” Sonia Baeva, the state agency’s maternal mortality and morbidity epidemiologist and the study’s lead author, said in a news release. “Death data can be a rich source of information, but our work shows that identification of rare events, such as maternal deaths, should be supported with additional evidence.”

The cause for the discrepancy, according to the department, was probably mistakes made by physicians, justices of the peace and medical examiners, who incorrectly reported in the state’s electronic death registration system that some women were pregnant at the time of their death, even though they weren’t. The “pregnant at the time of death” option is directly below the “not pregnant within the past year” option in the dropdown list.

The portion of death certificates filed electronically increased from 63 percent to 91 percent between 2010 and 2012, and that could have contributed to the misreporting, according to state health officials, who maintain the system.

After reviewing birth and death certificates and medical and autopsy records, researchers found that only 47 of the 147 women in the 2016 report died of pregnancy-related causes and found another nine deaths that were not originally counted. Researchers couldn’t confirm whether 15 deaths reported among the 147 were pregnancy-related.

In 2012, the rate was actually 14.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, researchers say, instead of the 38.4 percent that was originally reported. The updated figure puts Texas more in line with rates seen in other states.

Because of the high maternal death rate seen in 2012, Texas lawmakers created the Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force in 2013, and on the heels of the 2016 study, lawmakers extended the task force until 2023 during last year’s special legislative session.

“It is clear that Texas does not have the worst maternal mortality in the developed world and that previous reports were grossly inaccurate,” said state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, who authored the bill to extend the maternal mortality task force. “We as a state can and are doing more to improve maternal health outcomes.”

The 2016 study couldn’t pinpoint the cause of the sudden maternal mortality spike in 2012, especially when Texas had seen a modest increase between 2000 and 2010. The maternal death rate in 2010 was 18.8 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Marian MacDorman, the lead author of the 2016 study and a researcher at the University of Maryland, said the latest study shows the need for a more accurate national clearinghouse for such data.

“The work of the Texas maternal mortality review committee is laudable, necessary, and entirely appropriate given the current state of Texas vital statistics data. It is also true that, if the vital statistics system were functioning as it should, such a study would not have been needed,” she and fellow researchers said in an editorial also published Monday in the Obstetrics and Gynecology journal.

Department officials plan to examine maternal death rates in 2010, 2013 and 2014, which also saw high numbers. They will update the death registration system next year to include an extra step where users will have to verify that a woman was pregnant at the time of her death.

Lisa Hollier, head of the state maternal mortality task force and medical director of obstetrics and gynecology at Texas Children’s Hospital, said more still needs to be done to reduce the number of pregnancy-related deaths, especially among African-American women, who are disproportionately affected by the issue.

Common complications related to childbirth include hemorrhaging, chronic issues such as high blood pressure and drug overdoses.

“We will continue to do our detailed evaluation of maternal death cases to identify interventions that we can use to prevent maternal deaths and severe complications,” Hollier said.

There’s a huge problem with results of so called “Studies” not being able to be replicated when attempts are made to do so.

Yet when people tell me something and I ask if they’ve tried to verify the story I get eye rolls, etc.

Statistics conceal the incompleteness of the underlying data which is often wrong, or incomplete, hence nonsense.

If complete, then it is likely complete nonsense.

67.3% of ststidtics are misleading and the rest are flat wrong.

quote:

"In 2012, the rate was actually 14.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, researchers say, instead of the 38.4 percent that was originally reported. The updated figure puts Texas more in line with rates seen in other states."

98% of people writing about statistics don't know what they are saying. (38.4 percent would have gotten someone's attention right away.)