Impact of Human Development Index on Mortality Rates in Iran

Background and Objectives: Human Development Index (HDI) is an important indicator of a country’s development. On the other hand, mortality indicators are the most important indicators of the health of a society. This study aimed to examine the association between HDI and maternal, neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality rates in Iran between 2005 and 2016.   Methods: This longitudinal study was conducted using data collected from Iran Statistics Center, World Health Organization, and United Nations Development Program. SPSS software version 22 was used for data analysis. Pearson correlation test was applied to examine the correlation between HDI and mortality rates. Regression analysis was used to measure the effect of HDI on mortality rates.   Results: HDI increased from 0.690 in 2005 to 0.774 in 2016 (12% rise). Maternal, neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality rates decreased by 26, 41, 52, and 42% in 2016 compared to 2005, respectively. HDI had a significant indirect association with maternal (-0.973), neonatal (-0.983), infant (-0.739), and under-five mortality (-0.987). An increase of 0.01 in HDI reduced 1 maternal death per 100,000 births. An increase of 0.014, 0.009, and 0.008 in HDI decreased one neonatal, infant, and under-five death per 1000 births.   Conclusion: The results showed that increased HDI correlated with decreased mortality rates. Therefore, policy-makers should pay more attention to socio