OBJECTIVES

Examining the premature death rate represents the first step in estimating the overall burden of disease, reflecting a full picture of how different causes affect population health and providing a way of monitoring and evaluating population health. The present study was conducted to assess the burden of premature mortality in Hamadan Province, Iran in 2006 and 2010.

METHODS

To calculate years of potential life lost (YPLL), the dataset was categorized into 5-year age groups based on each person's age at death. Then the age groups were subtracted from the relevant age-based life table produced by the World Health Organization in 2009. The YPLL for each individual were then added together to yield the total YPLL for all individuals in the population who died in a particular year. Finally, we calculated the YPLL for all sex-, age-, and cause-specific mortality rates and reported them as percentages.

RESULTS

We analyzed 18,786 deaths, 9,127 of which occurred in 2006 and 9,659 in 2010. Mortality rates were higher in men than women for all age groups both in 2006 and 2010. In addition, age-specific mortality rates in both genders for all age groups were higher in 2010 than in 2006. The percentage of YPLL from ischemic heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, transport accidents, and intentional self-harm were among the greatest sources of premature death.

CONCLUSION

The results of the present survey indicate that the eight major causes of premature death in both 2006 and 2010 were non-communicable diseases, especially ischemic heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, transport accidents, and intentional self-harm. Furthermore, our findings indicate a change in the role of non-communicable diseases in premature mortality in recent years.