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Determinants of Child Mortality in South-West Uganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Venanzio Vella
Affiliation:
Centre for Human Nutrition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Andrew Tomkins
Affiliation:
Centre for Human Nutrition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
John Nidku
Affiliation:
Uganda Ministry of Health, Entebbe, Uganda
Tom Marshall
Affiliation:
Medical Statistics Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London

Summary

Anthropometric and sociodemographic variables were taken from 4320 children in a baseline survey carried out in March–April 1988 in the district of Mbarara, south-west Uganda. After 12 months a follow-up survey assessed the mortality of the children during the preceding year. Lack of ownership of cattle, recent arrival in the village, using candles for lighting, being of birth order higher than 5 and having a father with less than 8 years of schooling were significantly associated with child mortality. The addition of mid-upper arm circumference significantly improved the logistic model of socioeconomic variables and mortality and did not diminish the predictive power of socioeconomic variables in relation to increased mortality. This suggests that nutritional status and specific socioeconomic factors are both, independently, important predictors of child mortality.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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