Risk factors and child mortality among the Miao in Yunnan, Southwest China

Environmental factors and the lifestyle of communities in developing countries as in the industrialized world have a great deal to do with their health status. This study carried out among the Miao people of southeastern Yunnan province in Southwest China has demonstrated important links between child mortality (one indicator of health status) and specific risk factors. These include lifestyle variables such as geographic mobility, the age of weaning and religious belief. In addition, the use of available health care facilities was another explanatory variable. Perhaps surprisingly, a history of tuberculosis seemed also to be empirically related to the presence or absence of child mortality. Although it was impossible to show a significant statistical relationship between traditional practices and child mortality from the study's database, the authors have observed qualitatively that birthing customs play an important role in explaining the perinatal component of child mortality. These various relationships shed some light on potential areas for intervention with a view to reducing the levels of child mortality among minority peoples in China and elsewhere.