Release of Civil Registry Causes of Death Data in Iran (2015 to 2019) - Expectations and Doubts!

The National Organization for Civil Registration (NOCR) of Iran has reported causes of death data by ICD-10 chapters for the first time in 2020.

We used this report to review the share of ICD chapters among all deaths in each province and compare them with the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study.

There are major changes in the distribution of causes of death between 2017 and 2018, especially in D50-D89 (Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism) from 0.76% to 38.94%, and I00-I99 (Diseases of the circulatory system) from 39.27% to 7.09%. Such dramatic changes are probably the results of changes in coding practices or definitions or issues in analysis.

Causes of death reports should be timely, clear, and robust on methods. They should contain a minimum level of details, at least 3-digit ICD codes to be useful for public health and medical professionals.