BIBLIOGRAPHIC INPUT SHEET TEMPORARY Patterns of mortality ...

Chapter V. Infait Mortality
87
measles was an important contributor to
mortality. Since measles was second to
diarrheal disease in causing deaths due to
infectious diseases, a section of the chapter
on infectious diseases is devoted to an
analysis of this problem.
Respiratory diseases caused high rates in
the postneonatal period in La Paz and
Viacha (19.0 and 34.1 per 1,000 live births,
respectively). The rates were in excess of
10 in the suburban and rural areas of the
projects in Argentina (rural Chaco 13.6,
suburban San Juan 13.6, and rural San Juan
17.2) and in the rural municipios of El
Salvador (11.1).
The postneonatal death rates for nutritional
deficiency were high, principally as
an associated cause (Table 35). Rates in
Recife and rural El Salvador exceeded 30
per 1,000 live births as associated cause
(32.6 and 33.0, respectively), while those
in six other areas were over 20 per 1,000.
Because of their great importance, these
deaths with nutritional deficienoy are
studied in depth in Chapter IX.
The postneonatal rates for diarrheal disease
are also given in Table 35. On studying
the past histories of infants (lying from this
cause, it was observed that many had had
previous repeated episodes of the disease
that could have led to deterioration of their
nutritional state. The relationship between
these two morbid conditions was analyzed
and a correlation was found between mortality
from diarrheal disease as underlying
Fia. 40. Mortality from Diarrheal Disease as
Underlying Cause and with Nutritional Deficiency
as Associated Cause in the Postneonatal Period in
24 Areas of 15 Projects.
U
-_
' 30
"
20
. "
".
°
- 4 p ,o,,,I
,
' o" ,J "
UNDIIYNo CAUSI DIAHIAL DISIAS
(D .. , ,. ,o0 ,,..4 ,th.)
I
cause and nutritional deficiency as an associated
cause, this being shown by the regression
line in Figure 40. The rural municipios
of El Salvador had an excessive death rate
from diarrheal disease (57.4 as an underlying
cause), but though the rate for nutritional
deficiency (as far as known) was
very high (33.0 as an associated cause) it
was not high enough to be close to a regression
line through the other points. Therefore
the regression line in Figure 40 excludes
this area. The correlation coefficient of 0.91
for the death rates for these two variables
(diarrheal disease and nutritional deficiency)
is highly significant. The data thus
demonstrate that there is a close relationship
between diarrheal disease as an underlying
cause and nutritional deficiency as an
associated cause.
ROLE OF BIRTH WEIGHT IN POSTNEONATAL MORTALITY
The findings in regard to distribution of
deaths by birth weight in the postneonatal
period are puzzling, as can be observed in
Table 36 and Figure 41. Taking as an arbitrary
division of birth weights the figure of
3,000 grams, the percentages of infants
dying in the age period 28 days-5 months
and born with a weight of 3,000 grams or
less varied from 73.6 in rural El Salvador to
45.8 in San Juan Province. In the two areas