title: Life Expectancy and its Socioeconomic Determinants in Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Life expectancy at birth (LEB) is closely associated with the degree of economic and social development in developed and developing countries. This study aimed to examine the socioeconomic factors affecting LEB in Iran from 1985 to 2013.
  
  
  METHODS
  Time series analysis was used to examine the effects of key explanatory factors (GDP per capita, number of doctors per 10,000 population, degree of urbanization, food availability, CO2 emission, total fertility rate, inflation rate, and literacy rate) on LEB in Iran from 1985 to 2013. Study data were retrieved from the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), Iranian Statistical Center (ISC), and World Bank. Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) and Banergy, Dolado, and Master (BDM) tests, Engle Granger approach, and an ordinary least-square (OLS) model were used to achieve the aim of the study. Data analysis was performed by Stata V.12 software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our findings indicated that GDP per capita (p=0.003), number of doctors per 10,000 population (p=0.036), literacy rate (p=0.0001), and food availability (p=0.0001) have a positive and significant statistically effect on LEB. The relationship between total fertility rate and LEB was negative and significant (p=0.023). In addition, the effect of degree urbanization (p=0.811), CO2 emission (p=0.185), and inflation rate (p=0.579) on LEB were not significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  GDP per capita, number of doctors per 10,000 population, food availability, literacy rate, and total fertility were identified as the main factors affecting life expectancy in Iran. The study, however, suggests that life expectancy in Iran could be improved if attention is given to factors that reside outside of the health sector.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, School of Medicine and Center for Educational Research in Medical Sciences (CERMS), Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Somayeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Delavari
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, School of Health, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamed
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zandian
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
authors.forename: Satar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rezaei
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moradinazar
authors.affiliation: PhD Student of Health Policy, Health Human Resources Research Center, School of Management & Information Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Sajad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Delavari
authors.affiliation: Ph.D. Candidate in Medical Ethics, Medical Ethics and History of Medicine Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saber
authors.affiliation: Ph.D. Student of Health Policy, Amol Imam Reza Hospital, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Razieh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fallah
keywords: Iran; Life expectancy; Socio-economic factors; Time series