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 The International Journal of Hygiene

Current Issue

Vol. 5 No. 1 (2025): New Findings in the East Mediterranean Region
View Vol. 5 No. 1 (2025): New Findings in the East Mediterranean Region

The special issue titled New Findings of the East Mediterranean Region is conceived as a focused scholarly platform that brings together original research, reviews, clinical observations, and short scientific contributions that reflect the most important health and medical developments across the region. Rather than presenting articles as isolated publications, the issue is intended to be distributed in a balanced and purposeful manner, with emphasis placed on original research as the central component, supported by selected review articles, brief reports, case-based contributions, and an editorial introduction that frames the scientific direction of the issue. This distribution allows the issue to appear coherent, curated, and academically mature, while also ensuring that a wide range of pressing regional themes such as public health, clinical medicine, maternal and child health, infectious diseases, health systems, and environmental health are meaningfully represented.

The philosophy of this special issue is rooted in the belief that the East Mediterranean Region should not be viewed only as a setting of crisis, burden, or unmet need, but also as a source of scientific contribution, contextual intelligence, and research innovation. Health research emerging from this region carries a distinct value because it often addresses complex realities shaped by demographic transition, conflict, displacement, climate vulnerability, fragile health systems, and evolving disease patterns. At the same time, these realities generate unique forms of evidence that are highly relevant not only within the region but also to the wider global scientific community. The issue therefore adopts a philosophy that values regional knowledge as globally meaningful, encourages the visibility of underrepresented evidence, and positions local scholarship as an essential part of contemporary medical and public health discourse.

Through this special issue, the journal affirms its commitment to advancing a more inclusive and intellectually grounded model of scientific publishing, one that recognizes the dignity, relevance, and originality of research conducted in the East Mediterranean Region. The aim is not simply to collect manuscripts from the region, but to curate a body of work that demonstrates methodological rigor, practical importance, and strategic insight for policy, practice, and future investigation. In this way, the issue serves both as a record of current findings and as a statement of academic identity, showing that the region is not only responding to health challenges but actively producing knowledge that can shape broader scientific understanding.

Published: 2026-03-30

Articles

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Causes of Death and Disease Burden in Iran- Across sectional Study 

 

Abstract

       Healthcare providers and policymakers require reliable, up-to-date data on causes of death (COD) to improve healthcare infrastructure, guide primary prevention, allocate resources, and enhance public health initiatives. In Iran, the leading causes of death and their overall burden remain insufficiently identified. Previous studies in this area have been local, outdated, or lacked comprehensive national representation. This study aims to evaluate the major COD and their burden in Iran.                

Introduction       

Healthcare professionals and policymakers need accurate, up-to-date information on mortality causes to enhance healthcare infrastructure, guide preventive measures, allocate resources, and improve public health initiatives. However, in Iran, comprehensive national data on major mortality causes remain scarce. Given the global shift in mortality patterns, where non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are projected to contribute to 70% of all deaths by 2030 (WHO), reassessing mortality trends in Iran is crucial.           

Methods     

A cross-sectional study was conducted from February to March 2014 on graduate students and their families. Using a two-stage random sampling method, data from 11,315 individuals were collected. Information on age at death, gender, and year of death was obtained. Causes of death were classified into nine categories, including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, motor vehicle accidents, unintentional injuries, intentional injuries, stroke, lower respiratory infections, diabetes, and other causes. The disease burden was assessed using Years of Life Lost (YLL) and person-years of life lost (PYLL) as primary indicators.

                

Results       

Among 360 reported deaths, 66.9% were male. The leading COD were cardiovascular diseases (26.4%), motor vehicle accidents (17.8%), cancers (11.4%), and injuries (both intentional and unintentional, 12.5%). The average YLL for all COD was 34.4 ± 18.5 years, with motor vehicle accidents and injuries contributing to the highest YLL (p < 0.001). PYLL was highest for motor vehicle accidents (2613.1 years), followed by cardiovascular diseases (2159.4 years) and cancers (1321.0 years).

                

Conclusion       

The findings highlight cardiovascular diseases, motor vehicle accidents, cancers, and injuries as the major causes of death in Iran. Motor vehicle accidents account for the highest years of life lost, followed by cardiovascular diseases and cancers. These results emphasize the urgent need for targeted public health interventions, road safety improvements, and preventive strategies to reduce premature mortality and improve life expectancy in Iran.

                Keywords: Cause of death, mortality, life expectancy, cardiovascular diseases, traffic accidents, public health policies
   

 

Table 1: Cumulative Incidence of Death in the Studied Population

Cause of Death Frequency in Dead Cases (n=360) Cumulative Incidence in Dead Cases (%) Cumulative Incidence in Samples (n=11315)
Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total
Cardiovascular diseases 65 30 95 18.1 8.3 26.4 0.57 0.27 0.84
Motor vehicle accidents 52 12 64 14.4 3.3 17.7 0.46 0.11 0.57
Cancers 25 16 41 6.9 4.4 11.4 0.22 0.14 0.36
Unintentional injuries 14 9 23 3.9 2.5 6.4 0.12 0.08 0.20
Intentional injuries 20 2 22 5.6 0.6 6.1 0.18 0.02 0.19
Stroke 8 2 10 2.2 0.6 2.8 0.07 0.02 0.09
Lower respiratory infections 5 3 8 1.4 0.8 2.2 0.04 0.03 0.07
Diabetes 4 2 6 1.1 0.6 1.7 0.04 0.02 0.05
Other 48 43 91 13.3 11.9 25.2 0.42 0.38 0.80
Total 241 119 360 66.9 39.8 100 2.13 1.05 3.18