Determinants of child mortality in south-west Uganda

Anthropometric and sociodemographic variables were taken from 4320 children in a baseline survey carried out in March-April 1988 in the district of Mbarara, south-west Uganda. After 12 months a follow-up survey assessed the mortality of the children during the preceding year. Lack of ownership of cattle, recent arrival in the village, using candles for lighting, being of birth order higher than 5 and having a father with less than 8 years of schooling were significantly associated with child mortality. The addition of mid-upper arm circumference significantly improved the logistic model of socioeconomic variables and mortality and did not diminish the predictive power of socioeconomic variables in relation to increased mortality. This suggests that nutritional status and specific socioeconomic factors are both, independently, important predictors of child mortality.