Analysis of Trend of Death Rate and Leading Cause of Death among Young People in Eastern Mediterranean Countries during 1990-2019

Background and Objectives: One of the important basis of health planning in any society is to identify the causes of death and the trend of each cause in that country over time. The purpose of this study is to investigate the trend of youth mortality and causes od death among young population of the Eastern Mediterranean region. Methods: The present study conducted based on a secondary longitudinal analysis of death data to analyze the trend of youth mortality aged 15-24 and causes of death based on the ICD-10 in Eastern Mediterranean Region between 1990 and 2019. Study data were collected from the IHME Global Burden of Disease (GBD) website and analyzed using descriptive statistical and linear regression analysis. Death rate or cause is the dependent variable and time is the independent variable. Results: The mortality rate of young people (15 to 24 years old) in all the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region decreased from 1990 to 2019 except in Syria and Libya. Syria was the only country with a significant increase in the death rate. The most common cause of death was accidents; in general, the death rate related to this cause decreased during 30 years. Among the sub-groups of death causes among young people, the highest rate until 2010 was due to road accidents, which decreased over the study years. From 2010 onwards, death due to self-harm and interpersonal violence had the first rank. Conclusion: Although a declining trend was observed during the last three decades among young people of Eastern Mediterranean region, deaths due to accidents are still considerable. It seems that the interventions to reduce death due to road accidents were successful; however, any policy and intervention to reduce death due to self-harm and interpersonal violence has a high priority.