Iranian Journal of

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Background and Objectives: By identifying the causes of death, interventions can be designed and implemented to reduce the risk factors of different diseases. The aim of this study is to determine the trend of ten leading causes of death in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2011.

Methods: The study population comprised all deaths recorded in the death registration system of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) from 2006 to 2011. The data related to causes of death reviewed and modified in terms of quality, underreporting of deaths, and garbage codes using the Global Burden of Disease study methods. Finally, the data were analyzed by sex and age groups.

Results: The leading causes of death were cardiovascular diseases (46.12%), cancers and tumors (13.63%) and unintentional injuries (11.55%) in 2011. The 10 leading causes of death in the general population were myocardial infarction, stroke, transportation-related accidents; blood pressure induced heart disease, other cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic pulmonary and bronchial diseases, gastric cancer, other heart diseases and renal failure.

Conclusion: Deaths from non-communicable diseases still account for a large proportion of total deaths. According to the Heath System Reform Plan in Iran and the need for new interventions, it is very important to register the exact causes of death to design service packages and also evaluate the success rate of ongoing interventions.

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Background and Objectives: The cause of death in children under one year can be an important tool for designing prevention strategies and reducing the mortality rate. The aim of this study was to estimate the number of deaths in children under one year using the Mr. Murray’s estimation index in Mazandaran Province, and to compare this estimation with reported cases of civil registration organization.
 
Methods: All deaths of children under one year between 2011 to 2014 registered in hospitals across Mazandaran Province were included in this study. The cause of death as coded in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) was converted to Murray classification. The coefficients in each of the Murray levels were used to estimate actual death cases. We compared this estimation with the number of deaths that is reported annually by civil registration organization. 
 
Results: Seven hundred and sixty four deaths occurred in this period. The leading causes of death in children under one year were conditions of the perinatal period, congenital anomalies and chromosomal disorders, respiratory diseases, and diseases of the cardiovascular system. The Murray method estimated 1711 deaths for the entire Province.
 
Conclusion: the Murray method predicted that from 2011 to 2014, 390-445 children under one year died in Mazandaran Province annually. There is a controversy between the estimates obtained in this study and the number of deaths reported by the civil registration organization, which may indicate a defect in a complete registration of deaths by this organization.