Study of Share of Unintentional Accidents in Sex Differences of Mortality in Iran, 2006-2015

Background and objectives: Considering the high contribution of unintentional accidents to mortality, particularly in males in Iran, and their changes over the last decade, a study was conducted to review the share of deaths due to unintentional accidents in sex difference in life expectancy at birth in the country over the last decades. Methods: The mortality data for the years 2006 to 2015 were obtained from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. Then, the child mortality was corrected using the intercensal generational method and adult mortality was corrected for underreporting based on the Bennett-Horiuchi method. The contribution of mortality changes due to unintentional accidents to increase in females’ life expectancy was calculated using the ARIAGA decomposition method. Results: The sex differential in life expectancy was about 3.5 years in 2006 in Iran, which decreased to 2.9 years in 2011 and increased to 3 years in in 2015. The unintentional accidents in all three periods played a dominant role in sex differential mortality, but its contribution over time was significantly reduced, with a contribution of 60% to around 42% between 2006 and 2015. Conclusion: Due to the slowdown in the increase in life expectancy at birth in Iran in recent decades, attention to differential mortality, including sex difference in mortality and identification of potentials to increase life expectancy according to different groups, can increase life expectancy.