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Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, causing considerable burden and mortality. Demographic and lifestyle transitions in low and low-middle income countries have given rise to its increased incidence. The successful management of cancer relies on evidence-based policies taking into account national epidemiologic settings. We aimed to report the national and subnational trends of breast cancer incidence, mortality, years of life lost (YLL) and mortality to incidence ratio (MIR) since 1990. As part of the National and Subnational Burden of Diseases project, we estimated incidence, mortality and YLL of breast cancer by sex, age, province, and year using a two-stage spatio-temporal model, based on the primary dataset of national cancer and death registry. MIR was calculated as a quality of care indicator. Age-period-cohort analysis was used to distinguish the effects of these three collinear factors. A significant threefold increase in age-specific incidence at national and subnational levels along with a twofold extension of provincial disparity was observed. Although mortality has slightly decreased since 2000, a positive mortality annual percent change was detected in patients aged 25–34 years, leading to raised YLLs. A significant declining pattern of MIR and lower provincial MIR disparity was observed. We observed a secular increase of breast cancer incidence. Further evaluation of risk factors and developing national screening policies is recommended. A descending pattern of mortality, YLL and MIR at national and subnational levels reflects improved quality of care, even though mortality among younger age groups should be specifically addressed.

Background: Obesity has become a common health problem all over the world. Benefiting from a national representative sample, the present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of overweight/obesity and the distribution of Body Mass Index (BMI) levels in the Iranian adult population, by sex, age, and geographical distribution.Methods: This was a large-scale national cross-sectional study of Non-communicable Diseases risk factor surveillance in Iran. Through a systematic random sampling cluster, 31,050 Iranian adult participants aged 18 years and over were enrolled in the study. The main research tools were used to assess three different levels of data, namely: (1) demographic, epidemiologic, and risk-related behavioral data, (2) physical measurements, and (3) lab measurements. Anthropometric measurements were taken using standard protocols and calibrated instruments.Results: In 2016, the national prevalence rates of normal weight, obesity, and overweight/obesity among Iranian adults were, 36.7% (95% CI: 36.1–37.3), 22.7% (22.2–23.2), and 59.3% (58.7–59.9), respectively. There was a significant difference between the prevalence of obesity among males [15.3% (14.7–15.9)] and females [29.8% (29.0–30.5)] (p < 0.001). The 55–64 [31.5% (30.1–33.0)] and the 18–24 [8.3% (7.3–9.4)] year-old age groups had the highest and lowest prevalence of obesity, respectively. The results show a geographical pattern at provincial level, where the level of BMI increases among populations ranging from the southeastern to the northwestern regions of the country. The highest provincial prevalence of obesity was almost 2.5-fold higher than the lowest provincial prevalence.Conclusion: We found a significant difference between the prevalence of obesity in males and females. Moreover, there was a considerable difference in the geographical pattern of the prevalence of obesity and overweight. Further evidence is warranted to promote strategies and interventions related to prevention and control of factors that are associated with weight gain.