BACKGROUNDSince Macao's return of sovereignty to China in December 1999, the life style of Macao residents has changed. The aim of this study was to investigate changes of death patterns in Macao residents from 1986 to 2006 in order to identify the trends and patterns of major public health problems, which could provide the guidance for developing public health policies.

METHODSA retrospective study was conducted for this investigation. Research data were collected from official websites and statistical yearbooks and classified by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9.

RESULTSIt was observed that mortality from the three major causes of (1) infectious, maternal and childhood diseases, (2) chronic non-communicable diseases, and (3) injury and poisoning were 17.7, 298.2 and 26.0 per 100 000, respectively. The largest decrease in death rate over the 21-year study-period was from infectious, maternal and childhood diseases (62.5%). The highest mortality rate was ischemic heart diseases (37.0%). The largest increase in mortality rate was lung cancer (46.9%).

CONCLUSIONSMortality rate of Macao residents progressively decreased, but the constituent ratio of death from chronic non-communicable diseases was increasing. The mortality rate of lung cancer was clearly ascending, so emphasis should be put on tertiary prevention in future.