[Death rate by malnutrition in children under the age of five, Colombia]

Area of Science:

• Child Health
• Nutritional Epidemiology
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• Developing countries face disproportionately high child mortality rates, with malnutrition identified as a primary underlying factor in nearly half of deaths in children under five.
• Common causes of death in this demographic include perinatal conditions, measles, HIV/AIDS, diarrhea, and respiratory diseases, often exacerbated by malnutrition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To accurately quantify the death rate attributed to malnutrition using an adjusted methodology that addresses challenges in identifying it as a direct cause of death.
• To analyze the association between malnutrition and infectious disease mortality in children.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive study utilizing International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) vital statistics from 2003-2007.
• Application of the Analysis of Multiple Causes Method to estimate death rates and probabilities, accounting for infectious diseases and malnutrition.

Main Results:

• Malnutrition was strongly associated with infectious diseases, with infectious disease listed as a direct cause of death nearly seven times more often in malnourished children.
• Adjusted death rates indicated malnutrition as a significant underlying factor, increasing the estimated mortality rate nearly fivefold.
• The probability of death, after adjusting for classification issues, rose approximately fourfold, underscoring the impact of malnutrition.

Conclusions:

• Malnutrition is a critical underlying cause of death in young children, contributing to an estimated 1 in 8 deaths in infants under one year old.
• Malnutrition is implicated in approximately one in three deaths among children aged 1-4 years.
• The Analysis of Multiple Causes Method proved effective for assessing malnutrition and infectious disease mortality in Colombia.