Background: Epidemiologic transition is reflected by the change in pattern of causes of death in
which infectious and parasitic diseases shift to chronic and degenerative diseases of adulthood. Cause
of death trends and patterns are important for future health policy planning.
Objectives: To measure mortality trends of different causes of deaths for urban population of India.
Materials and Methods: The study used MCCD data for 1990-2010 and calculated proportion of
major cause of death to total deaths by age and sex for all these years.
Results: Analysis indicated that there had been shift in the age structure and cause of mortality. The
unique feature of epidemiologic transition in urban India is that circulatory and respiratory deaths had
increased their relative shares in mortality over time but infectious diseases did still remain a major
cause of death at the same time. There was reduction in share of children‟s deaths and concentration
of mortality in older age group.
Conclusion: India is presently facing the dual burden of disease specific mortality.