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

BACKGROUND: 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. METHODS: 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. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSION: 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.