Iranian Journal of

Background & Objectives: To adopt appropriate policies and strategies to maintain, preserve, and promote health, accurate information and indicators are required. In this study, the years of life lost due to premature death, which is considered one of the indicators of prioritization of health problems, was calculated and compared with other countries.

Methods: This study was an applied cross-sectional investigation. We use death registry data of the Province of Qazvin and population estimation from the Statistical Center of Iran from 2004- 2008 and a standard life table. We calculated YLL and YLL rates by age, sex and cause of death.

Results: The leading cause of YLL (premature death) in different age groups in the years 2004-2008 (based on ICD10) showed that the most common causes of death in the neonatal period were perinatal disorders, congenital anomalies, and chromosomal disorders. The leading causes of death in the age group 5-14 years were unintentional injuries and in the age group 15-49 years were unintentional injuries and cardiovascular diseases. The main causes of death in the age group 50-64 years were cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and unintentional injuries.

Conclusion: The leading causes of premature death in the Province of Ghazvin were unintentional injuries, cardiovascular diseases, perinatal disorders, and cancers. Several causes are preventable by lifestyle modifications such as reducing the tobacco use, increasing physical activity, and reducing stress.