Drowning is as one preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in the World and Iran that is
neglected in public health. This study aimed to present the epidemiological pattern and estimate the years of
life lost due to drowning mortality as one of the important health indicators in Mazandaran province of Iran.
Data on drowning from various sources were employed in this study (Death Registry System, Legal Medicine
Organization, and weekly report of Ministry of Health in Babol and Mazandaran, 2008) The YLL was calculated
using the standard Global Burden of Diseases method. In 2008, 273 people (91.2% male and 8.8% female) with
the mean age of 25.3±11.7 years died from drowning. Overall, 175 people were tourists and 98 people were
residents of Mazandaran province. The drowning death rate was 3.3 per 100,000 populations. The number of
years lost was 7211 (4579 tourists and 2632 residents). The number of years lost rate was 89 per 100,000 in
residents. Most YLL was seen to age group 10-19 years. Considering burden of drowning statistics and
unknown risk factors of drowning in Mazandaran, we hope the information in this study can help politics in
intervention planning in the province