Risk factors of neonatal mortality in Iran: a systematic review
Amin Daemi1, Hamid Ravaghi1, Mehdi Jafari1,2
1Department of Health Services Management, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Insights
Identifying key risk factors for neonatal mortality in Iran is crucial for reducing infant deaths. Preterm birth, low birth weight, maternal smoking, and congenital anomalies are significant contributors.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Neonatal Medicine
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Neonatal mortality significantly impacts under-five mortality rates globally.
- Identifying risk factors is essential for developing targeted interventions.
- This study focuses on neonatal mortality within the Iranian context.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the primary risk factors associated with neonatal mortality in Iran.
- To synthesize existing evidence on neonatal mortality determinants in the region.
Main Methods:
- A systematic literature search was conducted across multiple Persian and English databases up to January 2017.
- Inclusion criteria specified studies with control groups and multivariate regression analysis examining risk factors for neonatal mortality in Iran.
- Eight eligible studies were identified and their findings were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Preterm birth, low birth weight, maternal smoking and addiction, and congenital anomalies were identified as significant risk factors.
- Evidence for other potential risk factors was found to be controversial or insufficient.
- Risk factors were categorized into modifiable and identifiable groups.
Conclusions:
- Interventions targeting modifiable risk factors and early detection/special care for non-modifiable factors are recommended.
- Further large-scale, population-based studies with multivariate analysis are needed to clarify the effect sizes of identified risk factors.
Abstract:
Background: Reducing neonatal mortality is an important measure to reduce the overall under-five-years' mortality. Identifying the risk factors is the first step in this regard. This study performed with the aim of determining the risk factors of the neonatal mortality in Iran. Methods: Databases of SID, MagIran, IranMedex, IronDoc and Google Scholar for the Persian resources and Scopus, Science Direct, PubMed, Ovid, EMBASE, ISI web of science and Cochrane for English resources were searched up to January 2017. The inclusion criteria were the studies analyzing at least one risk factor for neonatal mortality in Iran with a control group and multivariate regression analysis. Eight papers met the inclusion criteria. The risk factors were extracted and tabulated. Results: Of the 1713 records retrieved, 8 were eligible to include in the analysis. Preterm birth, low birth weight, smoking and addiction, and anomaly were the important risk factors of neonatal mortality in Iran. Moreover, an extended list of potential risk factors identified on most of which the evidence was controversial and insufficient. The factors categorized into modifiable and identifiable ones. Conclusion: On the modifiable risk factors, proper intervention, and on the non-modifiable ones, early detection and special care may be helpful in preventing the babies from death. Population-based studies with large sample size and multivariate analysis are needed to make clear the effect size of the identified risk factors.
