Low birth weight as a risk factor for infant mortality in Egypt

We examined the risk of infant mortality among low-birth-weight children ( 2500 g) controllingfor other risk factors of infant mortality. We used survival regression analysis on 11 361 childbirthsin the 5 years preceding the 2000 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey. Higher birth order; shorterbirth interval; lack of prenatal care, safe sources of drinking-water and hygienic toilet facilities; livingin urban residence and Upper Egypt rural region were associated with a higher risk of infant mortality.The multivariate model indicated that low-birth-weight children were about 3 times more likely to die ininfancy than other children (hazard ratio = 2.89, 95% CI: 2.33–3.58) independent of other risk factors.