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Why do young children die in the UK? A comparison with Sweden

Parag Tambe1, Helen M Sammons1, Imti Choonara1

  • 1Academic Unit of Child Health, University of Nottingham, Derbyshire Children Hospital, Derby, UK.

Archives of Disease in Childhood
|August 15, 2015
PubMed

Insights

The UK has a higher child mortality rate than Sweden, with prematurity and infections being key factors. Improving care for premature infants and treatable infections could reduce UK child deaths.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health
  • Comparative Epidemiology

Background:

  • The United Kingdom (UK) exhibits a higher child mortality rate compared to Sweden.
  • Under-five mortality rates in 2011 were 5/1000 in the UK versus 3/1000 in Sweden.
  • Significant disparities necessitate a comparative analysis of child mortality causes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the causes of death in children under five years of age between the UK and Sweden.
  • To identify specific factors contributing to higher child mortality in the UK.
  • To inform strategies for reducing child mortality in the UK.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized under-five mortality data from the UK's Office of National Statistics (2006-2008).
  • Acquired comparable data for Sweden from the National Board of Health and Welfare (2006-2008).
  • Employed statistical analysis, including the chi-squared (χ2) test, for cause-of-death comparisons.

Main Results:

  • The UK experienced a significantly higher overall under-five mortality rate (614/100,000) than Sweden (328/100,000; p<0.001).
  • Leading causes of death in the UK—prematurity, congenital malformations, and infections—had substantially higher rates than in Sweden (p<0.001).
  • Treatable infections like pneumonia and meningitis showed significantly higher mortality rates in UK neonates and young children.

Conclusions:

  • Reducing the incidence of prematurity is crucial for lowering child mortality in the UK.
  • Reviewing and improving the management of treatable infections in children is essential.
  • Addressing these factors can help mitigate the observed differences in child mortality between the UK and Sweden.
Abstract

Keywords:
Comm Child HealthHealth services researchOutcomes researchPharmacology

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