Gender Gap in Mortality in Iran, 2006-2015

The different life cycles and lifestyles of men and women in human populations have always led to significant gender differences in the mortality by sexes. So far, studies on the gender gap in mortality mostly carried out in western countries, and it is under researched in Iran. The present study examines the patterns of cause-by-age gender gap in mortality in Iran over the last decade. Data were adopted from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, and have been used after evaluating and correcting by the modified Brass-Trussell method and the Bennett-Horrurichi method. The findings show that the gap in life expectancy between male and female was about 3.5 years in 2006, decreasing to 2.9 and 3.0 years in 2011 and 2015 respectively. During the study period, about 80% of the gender gap in mortality was due to mortality differences between male and female aged 20-64 years old. The unintentional events in all three periods played a dominant role in the mortality sex differences, but its share has declined significantly over time, with its contribution from 60% to around 42% between 2006 and 2015. By contrast, during this period, the role of cardiovascular disease has increased from 9% to 20% in explaining the mortality gap and the role of cancers rose from 10% to 15%. By studying the sex difference in death causes, in addition to showing the capacity to reduce men's death, the critical points of women's mortality by age and cause, can been identified . And by focusing on health planning and disease prevention in a specific direction, it the sex differences in Mortality can be decreased and also the life expectancy for both sex increased.