Contribution of malnutrition to infant and child deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Publication/Presentation Date
12-5-2024
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Malnutrition contributes to 45% of all childhood deaths globally, but these modelled estimates lack direct measurements in countries with high malnutrition and under-5 mortality rates. We investigated malnutrition's role in infant and child deaths in the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) network.
METHODS: We analysed CHAMPS data from seven sites (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and South Africa) collected between 2016 and 2023. An expert panel assessed each death to determine whether malnutrition was an underlying, antecedent or immediate cause or other significant condition. Malnutrition was further classified based on postmortem anthropometry using WHO growth standards for underweight (z-scores for weight-for-age
RESULTS: Of 1601 infant and child deaths, malnutrition was considered a causal or significant condition in 632 (39.5%) cases, including 85 (13.4%) with HIV infection. Postmortem measurements indicated 90.1%, 61.2% and 94.1% of these cases were underweight, stunted and wasted, respectively. Most malnutrition-related deaths (n=632) had an infectious cause (89.1%). The adjusted odds of having malnutrition as causal or significant condition were 2.4 (95% CI 1.7 to 3.2) times higher for deaths involving infectious diseases compared with other causes. Common pathogens in the causal pathway for malnutrition-related deaths included
CONCLUSION: Malnutrition was identified as a causal or significant factor in 39.5% of under-5 deaths in the CHAMPS network, often in combination with infectious diseases. These findings highlight the need for integrated interventions addressing both malnutrition and infectious diseases to effectively reduce under-5 mortality.
Volume
9
Issue
12
ISSN
2059-7908
Published In/Presented At
Madewell, Z. J., Keita, A. M., Das, P. M., Mehta, A., Akelo, V., Oluoch, O. B., Omore, R., Onyango, D., Sagam, C. K., Cain, C. J., Chukwuegbo, C., Kaluma, E., Luke, R., Ogbuanu, I. U., Bassat, Q., Kincardett, M., Mandomando, I., Rakislova, N., Varo, R., Xerinda, E. G., … Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance Network (2024). Contribution of malnutrition to infant and child deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. BMJ global health, 9(12), e017262. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2024-017262
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Pediatrics
PubMedID
39638608
Department(s)
Department of Pediatrics
Document Type
Article