American Journal of Public Health, Vol 90, Issue 1 64-69, Copyright © 2000 by American Public Health Association
The effect of poverty, social inequity, and maternal education on infant mortality in Nicaragua, 1988-1993
R Pena, S Wall and LA Persson
Department of Preventive Medicine, Universidad Nacional Autonoma, Leon, Nicaragua. rodolfo.pena@epiph.umu.se
OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the effect of poverty and social inequity
on infant mortality risks in Nicaragua from 1988 to 1993 and the preventive
role of maternal education. METHODS: A cohort analysis of infant survival,
based on reproductive histories of a representative sample of 10,867 women
aged 15 to 49 years in Leon, Nicaragua, was conducted. A total of 7073
infants were studied; 342 deaths occurred during 6394 infant-years of
follow-up. Outcome measures were infant mortality rate (IMR) and relative
mortality risks for different groups. RESULTS: IMR was 50 per 1000 live
births. Poverty, expressed as unsatisfied basic needs (UBN) of the
household, increased the risk of infant death (adjusted relative risk [RR]
= 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.15, 1.92). Social inequity,
expressed as the contrast between the household UBN and the predominant UBN
of the neighborhood, further increased the risk (adjusted RR = 1.74; 95% CI
= 1.12, 2.71). A protective effect of the mother's educational level was
seen only in poor households. CONCLUSIONS: Apart from absolute level of
poverty, social inequity may be an independent risk factor for infant
mortality in a low-income country. In poor households, female education may
contribute to preventing infant mortality.