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. 2022 Jan 28:17:101033.
doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101033. eCollection 2022 Mar.

Levels, trends and socio-demographic determinants of infant and under-five mortalities in and around slum areas of Dhaka city, Bangladesh

Abdur Razzaque  1 , Razib Chowdhury  1 , Ahm Golam Mustafa  1 , Farzana Begum  1 , Sohana Shafique  1 , Alexander Lawton  2 , Mohammad Zahirul Islam  3
Affiliations

Levels, trends and socio-demographic determinants of infant and under-five mortalities in and around slum areas of Dhaka city, Bangladesh

Abdur Razzaque et al. SSM Popul Health. .

Abstract

Infant and child mortality are often used to monitor the progress of national population health programs. The data for this study was collected from selected urban slums where icddr,b has maintained the Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS). Using the HDSS database, 6,666 married women were selected and interviewed in 2018 to collect data on socioeconomic status, pregnancy history and safe motherhood practices. The study examined levels and trends of infant and under-five mortality for three periods: 1990-1999 (Period 1), 2000-2009 (Period 2), and 2010-2018 (Period 3) and examined socio-demographic differentials of infant and under-five mortality for Period 3. From Period 1 to Period 3, under-five mortality declined by 68.2%, with child mortality (1-4 years) declining more than infant mortality (84% vs. 65%). In the regression models for Period 3, infant and under-five mortality were higher for working than non-working mothers (infant: OR = 1.35*, CI: 0.98, 1.86; under-five: OR = 1.34*, CI: 0.99, 1.82), lower for girls than boys (infant: OR = 0.77*, CI: 0.57, 1.03; under-five: OR = 0.77*, CI: 0.58, 1.03), higher for small-size than normal/big-size babies (infant: OR = 4.11***, CI: 3.00, 5.64; under-five: OR = 3.68***, CI: 2.70, 5.02), higher for babies delivered vaginally than by caesarean section (infant: OR = 1.79**, CI: 1.14, 2.97; under-five: OR = 1.87***, CI: 1.21, 2.88), higher for babies delivered with complications than no complication (infant: OR = 2.16***, CI: 1.48, 3.15; under-five: OR = 2.21***, CI: 1.55, 3.18), and higher for babies born after a short (<24 months) birth interval (infant: OR = 1.71*, CI: 0.96, 3.05; under-five: OR = 1.63*, CI: 0.93, 2.86) than firstborns. While substantial progress has been made in reducing under-five and infant mortality, neonatal mortality have declined less slowly. Targeted population health interventions addressing the socio-demographic drivers of infant mortality, with a focus on the urban poor, will help Bangladesh achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.

Keywords: Bangladesh; Dhaka; Infant; Mortality; Slum; Under-five.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Neonatal, post-neonatal, infant, child (1-4 years), and under-five mortality rates by study period.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Percent decline in neonatal, post-neonatal, infant, child (1-4 years), and under-five mortality between study periods.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Percent of neonatal, post-neonatal, infant, child (1-4 years) deaths out of all under-five deaths for each study period.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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