Causes and Trends of Mortality Among Iranian Older Adults From 2000 to 2019

Objectives Mortality statistics are among the important health indicators.Despite some studies on the mortality of Iranian older adults, these are not adequately considered compared with other demographic groups.The current study aims to investigate the causes and trends of mortality among Iranian older adults and compare them with global statistics.Methods & Materials In the current study, the World Health Organization's (WHO) available data on the causes of death for different sexes, age groups, and countries were analyzed.After calculation and raking of cause-specific death rates and proportional mortality from the specific diseases, 5 main causes of death and 20 diseases with the highest specific death rates among Iranian older men and women, 60-70 and over 70 years age groups, were reported and compared. ResultsThe main groups of cardiovascular diseases (47.75%), malignancies (22.56%), diabetes (5.98%), unintentional injuries (4.86%), and pulmonary diseases (4.53%) were the most common causes of death in the age group of 60-69 in 2019.Meanwhile, in the age group of 70 years and older, cardiovascular diseases (54.09%), malignancies (15.71%), neurologic disorders including dementias (6.80%), pulmonary diseases (5.42%) and diabetes (4.15%) were the leading causes of death.Conclusion Examining the top 20 causes of mortality shows significant differences in the pattern and rate of mortality between the two age groups of under and over 70 years old.Since the complications of some diseases that are common causes of death in older people, such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases, are largely preventable, more actions are recommended to identify, control, and prevent the complications of these diseases.