Indices and sociodemographic determinants of childhood mortality in rural Upper Egypt

There is a general agreement that childhood mortality in Egypt has substantially declined during the last two decades. The decline has been traditionally attributed to the impact of the National Control of Diarrhoeal Diseases Program (NCDDP). However, a controversy still exists over the magnitude of that decline and the claimed impact of the NCDDP on diarrhoea related mortality. This study was carried out in six sites in rural Upper Egypt to determine indices, leading causes, and sociodemographic determinants of childhood mortality. Verbal autopsy was conducted with mothers or caretakers who had reported the death of a child under the age of five (U5) before the study to determine the leading cause of death. Then, the association between childhood mortality and a wide set of sociodemographic risk factors was examined by comparing these children with 1025 living U5 children using a multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results showed that the average infant and U5 mortality rates are 97.2 and 130.8 per 1000 live births respectively. Verbal autopsy revealed that the leading causes of U5 mortality are: diarrhoeal diseases (39.4%), acute respiratory infection (26.8%), combined episode of both (5.1%), febrile illnesses including meningitis (10.6%), neonatal causes (12.6%), and accidents (2.5%). Diagnosis was not determined in 3.0% of the cases. Child age (<12 month) and mother age at childbirth are the strongest determinants of childhood mortality. Other determinants include parental illiteracy, parental age difference, house ownership, child order and average household meat consumption.