Trends in the Causes of Maternal Mortality in Iran and other Countries in the Region During the Years 1990 – 2016

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Understanding the causes and frequency of maternal mortality and their occurrence over time is the first important step in policymaking to reduce maternal mortality. The purpose of this study was to compare the trends in the causes of maternal mortality in Iran and other countries in the region including 30 countries. METHODS: In this longitudinal, retrospective cohort study, the trends in causes of maternal mortality between 1990 and 2016 were evaluated. The study data were collected from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) website and a secondary analysis was performed using Multilevel Linear Regression Models. In this study, "time" is the independent variable and "percentage of causes of death" is the dependent variable. FINDINGS: Among the direct causes of death, hemorrhage, despite a significant decreasing trend, was the most important cause of maternal mortality in Iran with a coefficient of 0.28 (CI = -0.25, -0.31, p<0.001). Other direct causes of death, including hypertension, infection, abortion and ectopic pregnancy, labor obstruction, and uterine rupture and death due to delays, all showed a significant decreasing trend during the annual period with regression coefficients of 0.17, 0.16, 0.15, 0.13, and 0.02, respectively (p<0.001). After hemorrhage, indirect causes and deaths due to other reasons were respectively ranked as second and third causes. The trends in almost all causes of death in Iran have declined significantly over this period compared to other countries in the region. CONCLUSION: The results of the study showed that the trends in all causes of maternal mortality has decreased significantly in Iran over the past 26 years, but this decline was lower compared to other countries in the region.

Keywords

• maternal mortality
• causes of death
• trend
• iran
• countries of the region
• longitudinal study