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Hospitalization, mortality, and health service delivery pattern among Iranian Hajj pilgrims by age, sex, and province in 2013-22[1]

Kolivand P, Saberian P, Arabloo J, et al; Azari S · 2025 · Front Public Health

Summary

Pooled cross-sectional analysis of ALL Iranian Hajj pilgrims 2013-2022 (Iranian Red Crescent Hajj Medical Center data): hospitalizations peaked at 89,492 (2019) and bottomed at 38,947 (2022); Poisson modeling shows female pilgrims hospitalized at 0.73x the male rate. Mortality peaked sharply in 2015 (509 deaths, 74.3% of the decade's total; 64.5% aged 45-70; 84.7% male) — driven by the MINA STAMPEDE plus cardiovascular disease. Concludes with calls for strategic planning, targeted interventions, and stronger surveillance.

So what

A decade of national-cohort ground truth from the sending-country side of Hajj medicine — the perspective the Saudi-facility literature cannot capture — and the starkest single number in the pilgrimage dataset: one afternoon at Mina in 2015 accounts for nearly three-quarters of a decade of Iranian pilgrim deaths. That concentration is the epidemiological argument that crush prevention dominates every other Hajj health intervention combined, and the national-delegation data model (Red Crescent medical center per country) is itself worth documenting on MGMI's pilgrimage pages. Pairs with Ghanbari (Arbaeen) for the Iranian sending-country pair. Free PMC.

Key findings

  • All Iranian Hajj pilgrims 2013-2022; hospitalizations 38,947-89,492/year
  • 2015: 509 deaths = 74.3% of the decade's mortality - the Mina stampede year
  • Deaths 84.7% male, concentrated ages 45-70; Mina crush + CVD dominant causes
  • Female hospitalization rate 0.73x male (Poisson-adjusted)
  • Sending-country national-delegation data model; free PMC full text

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