Objective To analyze the change in life expectancy of residents in Yangpu district, Shanghai, from 2016 to 2024, quantify the contributions of age and cause of death to these changes and provide scientific evidence for precise disease prevention and control in the district.

Methods Based on cause-of-death surveillance and demographic data of registered residents in Yangpu, the annual life expectancy was calculated by using abridged life table. Arriaga decomposition method was used to quantify the contributions of age and cause of death to the change in life expectancy.

Results From 2016 to 2024, the life expectancy at birth for registered residents in Yangpu increased from 83.38 years to 85.48 years, an increase of 2.10 years. The life expectancy of women was consistently higher than that of men during the study period. All the age groups made positive contributions to the life expectancy. The age group 65−<85 years had highest contribution (42.67%), followed by age groups ≥85 years (25.05%) and 45−<65 years (14.01%). The cause-of-death decomposition showed that the three leading causes with positive contributions were neoplasm (contribution rate:40.15%; contribution value: 0.84 years), circulatory system disease (contribution rate:27.00%; contribution value: 0.57 years), and respiratory system disease (contribution rate:18.36%; contribution value:0.39 years). The negative contributions were mainly from endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (contribution rate: −13.11%; contribution value: −0.28 years) and genitourinary system disease (contribution rate: −1.28%; contribution value: −0.03 years).

Conclusion The increase of life expectancy of residents in Yangpu was mainly driven by declined mortality in the elderly population and the effective prevention and control of neoplasm and circulatory system disease. However, the negative impact of nutritional and metabolic diseases increased. Distinct risk patterns were observed across age and sex groups, underscoring the need for further targeted interventions.