Objective  To investigate the causes and trends of deaths in residents in Hanggin Rear Banner, Bayannur of Inner Mongolia autonomous region and the probabilities of premature deaths and trends of four major chronic diseases, and provide scientific evidence for disease prevention and control.

  Methods  The cause-of-death data of residents in Hanggin Rear Banner from 2014 to 2018 were collected, the underlying death causes were classified and coded according to the International Classification of Diseases 10th Edition (ICD-10), and the crude mortality rate, standardized mortality rate, cause-of-death ratio, and probability of premature death were calculated by software Excel 2010 and SPSS 24.0. Trend analysis used trend χ² test, and rate comparison used χ² test.

  Results  A total of 7 158 deaths were reported in Hanggin Rear Banner from 2014 to 2018. The average annual crude mortality rate was 558.31/100 000, and the average annual standardized mortality rate was 554.52/100 000. The crude mortality rate and the standardized mortality rate in men, women and the whole population were in increase; the crude mortality rate and the standardized mortality rate were higher in men than in women. The top five death causes were heart disease (203.30/100 000), malignant tumor (122.26/100 000), cerebrovascular disease (96.97/100 000), injury and poisoning (34.02/100 000) and respiratory disease (13.22/100 000), accounting for 84.14% of the total deaths. The mortality rates in all age groups showed upward trends. The increasing trend of the mortality rate in age group 45–64 years was statistically significant (trend χ²= 9.29, P<0.05); the deaths mainly occurred in age group ≥45 years, accounting for 92.65% of all deaths. The overall probability of premature death caused by the four major chronic diseases showed an upward trend (trend χ²=13.30, P<0.001); the probability of premature death caused by major chronic diseases in men was higher than that in women (P<0.05). The standardized mortality rate of the main death causes in people in arsenic poisoning areas was higher than that in the whole population (P<0.001), and the top four death causes were same to those in the whole population.

  Conclusion  The death in residents in Hanggin Rear Banner showed an upward trend from 2014 to 2018. Cardio-cerebrovascular diseases and malignant tumors had become the main death causes in the area. The tertiary prevention of chronic diseases should be strengthened to reduce the probability of premature death of chronic diseases and improve the residents’ healthy life expectancy and quality of life.