© 1987 Oxford University Press
research-article |
Birthweight and Infant Mortality: A Longitudinal Study of 5914 Brazilian Children*
** Department of Social Medicine, Universidade Federal de Pelotas C.P. 464. 96100 Pelotas. RS. Brazil
Department of Maternal and Child Health, Universidade Católica de Pelotas. Av. Dom Joaquim 982. 96100 Pelotas. RS. Brazil
Evaluation and Planning Centre, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Keppel Street. London WCIE 7HT
In a population-based cohort study in Southern Brazil, 87.3% of 5914 liveborn infants were followed for over 12 months. The 215 infant deaths occurring in this cohort were studied in relation to birthweight, gestational age and socioeconomic status. Causes of death were ascertained through the review of case notes and interviews with the parents. As predicted, there was a strong inverse association between birthweight and neonatal and postneonatal mortality. Preterm infants with an adequate weight for their gestational age, despite being slightly heavier than small-for-dates, showed an IMR which was twice as large as the latter. The relative risk associated with low birthweight for deaths due to respiratory infections was over twice as large as that for diarrhoea deaths, but there were only 25 deaths in each category and the estimates are therefore not very precise. There was an interaction between birthweight and socioeconomic status, with the relative risk of mortality associated with low birthweight being much larger among rich than among poor infants. Estimates of the magnitude of the reduction in infant mortality which would accompany a given improvement in the birthweight distribution, which have been mostly based on data from developed countries, may prove to be overoptimistic.
Revised 1 April 1986
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  C.-G. Bornehag, J. Sundell, T. Sigsgaard, and S. Janson Potential self-selection bias in a nested case-control study on indoor environmental factors and their association with asthma and allergic symptoms among pre-school children Scand J Public Health, October 1, 2006; 34(5): 534 - 543. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. G Victora and F. C Barros Cohort Profile: The 1982 Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort Study Int. J. Epidemiol., April 1, 2006; 35(2): 237 - 242. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. A. Silva, M. A Barbieri, H. Bettiol, M. Z Goldani, and R. J Rona Can we explain why Brazilian babies are becoming lighter? Int. J. Epidemiol., August 1, 2004; 33(4): 821 - 828. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. Christian, K. P West, S. K Khatry, S. C Leclerq, E. K Pradhan, J. Katz, S. R. Shrestha, and A. Sommer Effects of maternal micronutrient supplementation on fetal loss and infant mortality: a cluster-randomized trial in Nepal Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, December 1, 2003; 78(6): 1194 - 1202. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Arifeen, R. E. Black, G. Antelman, A. Baqui, L. Caulfield, and S. Becker Exclusive Breastfeeding Reduces Acute Respiratory Infection and Diarrhea Deaths Among Infants in Dhaka Slums Pediatrics, October 1, 2001; 108(4): e67 - 67. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. Luxemburger, R. McGready, A. Kham, L. Morison, T. Cho, T. Chongsuphajaisiddhi, N. J. White, and F. Nosten Effects of Malaria during Pregnancy on Infant Mortality in an Area of Low Malaria Transmission Am. J. Epidemiol., September 1, 2001; 154(5): 459 - 465. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. G Victora, B. R Kirkwood, A. Ashworth, R. E Black, S. Rogers, S. Sazawal, H. Campbell, and S. Gove Potential interventions for the prevention of childhood pneumonia in developing countries: improving nutrition Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 1999; 70(3): 309 - 320. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|