Excess female child mortality in the developing world during the 1970s and 1980s

"How did...excess female child mortality evolve from the 1970s to the 1980s, during a period when mortality declined significantly? Is there a relationship between the intensity of the phenomenon and levels of mortality or certain social development indicators? These are some of the questions which the article discusses on the basis of reliable and comparable data taken from approximately 60 [developing] countries."

Mortality in two Jewish populations--Montreal and Israel: environmental determinants of differences

BACKGROUND

Mortality was compared in the Jewish populations of Montreal and Israel and the overall Canadian population, to investigate whether the Israeli pattern of low male mortality and relatively high female mortality is replicated among Jews living elsewhere.

METHODS

In Montreal, death certificates were obtained from Jewish funeral homes (where all Jewish deaths are believed to be handled) for 1986-1990 and coded.

RESULTS

All-cause cumulative mortality for ages 35-74 (CM), was exceedingly low in Montreal Jews, both in males (CM = 0.312, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.274-0.350) and females (CM = 0.202, 95% CI: 0.172-0.232), compared to all Canadians (CM = 0.425; 95% CI: 0.414-0.435 and 0.251; 95% CI: 0.243-0.253) and Israeli Jews (CM = 0.406; 95% CI: 0.379-0.434, and 0.299; 95% CI: 0.276-0.322), for males and females. Sex ratios (male:female) were 1.36, 1.54, and 1.69 for Israeli Jews, Montreal Jews, and Canadians, respectively. Differences were due mainly to substantially lower cumulative mortality from circulatory diseases in Montreal Jews (CM = 0.139, 0.043 versus 0.203, 0.125 in Israeli Jews and 0.199, 0.081 in Canadians, in males and females, respectively); these differences were all highly significant. Sex ratios for circulatory deaths were lowest in Israel (1.63), highest in Montreal (3.23) and intermediate in Canadians (2.47). Among men, the circulatory diseases mortality ratio for Canadians versus Montreal Jews was 1.43, and 1.46 between Israeli and Montreal Jews; in women, these ratios were 1.87 and 2.90, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that the mortality pattern characteristic of Israeli Jews is not a universal Jewish phenomenon and may be affected by modifiable environmental factors. Similar studies conducted in other Jewish communities would aid in confirming these observations.

The size of mortality differences associated with educational level in nine industrialized countries

OBJECTIVES

This study addresses the question of whether inequalities in premature mortality related to educational level differ among countries.

METHODS

Data on mortality by educational level were obtained from longitudinal studies from nine industrialized countries. The data referred to men between 35 and 64 years of age. The follow-up periods occurred between 1970 and 1982. The size of mortality differences associated with educational level was measured by means of two inequality indices, both based on Poisson regression analysis.

RESULTS

Inequalities in mortality are relatively small in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway and about two times as large in the United States, France, and Italy. Finland and England and Wales occupy intermediate positions. The large inequalities in mortality in the United States and France can be attributed in part to large inequalities in education in these countries.

CONCLUSIONS

The international pattern found in this study was also observed in a comparison that used occupation as the socioeconomic indicator. Differences between countries in levels of inequality in mortality may be partially explained by the countries' different levels of egalitarian social and economic policies.

[Decrease in the expectation of life at birth in the Netherlands during 1993]

"With a few [exceptions] the age-specific mortality quotients based on observations during 1993 [in the Netherlands] were higher than the 1992-based ones. The increase is strongest in the lower and the higher ages.... It can be shown that the most important contributors to the decrease of the expectation of life at birth for boys was due to increased mortality quotients in the age groups 55 1/2-60 1/2 years or over. For girls the age groups 65 1/2-70 1/2 or over are most important." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

Socioeconomic and environmental determinants of child survival in Bangladesh

Differentials in child survival in Bangladesh have been examined using a number of socioeconomic and environmental factors on data from the 1989 Bangladesh Fertility Survey. Multivariate analysis reveals that both wife's and husband's education and household electricity show a significant positive association with child survival. The respondent's working status exerts a significant negative influence. Wife's education has a greater influence on child survival in Bangladesh than that of husband's education.

Analysis of social and economic factors affecting mortality in China

"In this study, the author compares the data from the 1982 and 1990 [Chinese] censuses...,conducts on the basis of the 1990 census a gradual regression analysis of the social and economic factors that affect mortality in various regions, including both urban and rural areas, selects the major factors, and proposes [methods of] further lowering mortality in China."

[A covariance structure model for the analysis of spatial differences in Mexican mortality]

"This article examines some of the possible determinants of spatial mortality differentials in Mexico, on the basis of [a] path analytical model with latent variables." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

Health and social predictors of mortality in an elderly Chinese cohort

A total of 1,054 Hong Kong Chinese subjects aged 70 years or over were recruited into a cohort study to investigate the relation between social support and health outcomes. More than 30 social, health, and behavioral characteristics were recorded as baseline information when the study began in 1985. Mortality data were obtained during a 2-year follow-up. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine the roles of these variables in predicting mortality. The mortality patterns of Hong Kong and of the studied cohort closely resemble that of Western developed countries with cancer, heart disease, and cerebrovascular diseases as the leading causes of death. Besides sex and place of residence (whether living in the community or in homes for the elderly), the independent predictors of mortality included five baseline variables: being single or widowed, limited ability in activities of daily living, smoking habit, low body mass index, and poor self-evaluated health status. Subjects with at least three of these predictors had a relative risk of 3.9 (95% confidence interval 2.4-6.2) compared with those with zero to two of these characteristics.

Community-level determinants of infant mortality in Mexico

Data from pregnancy histories collected by the 1976–77 Mexican Fertility Survey show wide variations in infant mortality among a sample of 125 communities. There are also large infant mortality differentials by population size, economic status, access variables, utilities, medical facilities and schools. These community-level factors, which have been little used in previous studies, are highly correlated and do not appear to affect infant survival independently of population size. As such, community size serves as a summary measure of a locality's overall level of development and comparative risk of early death for its young inhabitants.

The diet and 15-year death rate in the seven countries study

In 15 cohorts of the Seven Countries Study, comprising 11,579 men aged 40-59 years and "healthy" at entry, 2,288 died in 15 years. Death rates differed among cohorts. Differences in mean age, blood pressure, serum cholesterol, and smoking habits "explained" 46% of variance in death rate from all causes, 80% from coronary heart disease, 35% from cancer, and 45% from stroke. Death rate differences were unrelated to cohort differences in mean relative body weight, fatness, and physical activity. The cohorts differed in average diets. Death rates were related positively to average percentage of dietary energy from saturated fatty acids, negatively to dietary energy percentage from monounsaturated fatty acids, and were unrelated to dietary energy percentage from polyunsaturated fatty acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and alcohol. All death rates were negatively related to the ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fatty acids. Inclusion of that ratio with age, blood pressure, serum cholesterol, and smoking habits as independent variables accounted for 85% of variance in rates of deaths from all causes, 96% coronary heart disease, 55% cancer, and 66% stroke. Oleic acid accounted for almost all differences in monounsaturates among cohorts. All-cause and coronary heart disease death rates were low in cohorts with olive oil as the main fat. Causal relationships are not claimed but consideration of characteristics of populations as well as of individuals within populations is urged in evaluating risks.