Abstract

MANRIQUE-ABRIL, Fred G.; MARTINEZ-MARTIN, Abel F.  and  MELENDEZ-ALVAREZ, Bernardo F.. Deaths in children during the early twentieth and twenty-first century in Boyacá, Colombia. Rev. salud pública [online]. 2012, vol.14, suppl.2, pp.15-31. ISSN 0124-0064.

Objective Comparing and analysing crude death (CDR), child mortality (CMR) 5-year per thousand live births (LBR) and infant mortality rates (IMR) in the Boyacá department, Colombia, during the early 20^th and 21^st centuries. Methods A descriptive epidemiological comparative historical approach was adopted. Two data sources were used for deaths: parish registers 1912-1927 and the Boyacá Epidemiological Bulletin 2007 population census for 1912-1918-1927 and 2005 (Colombian Statistics Bureau - DANE); data was stored and analysed in Mysql. Crude rates, age-specific and child mortality ratios and mortality were calculated by cause. Results 7,958 deaths were recorded from 1912-1927 compared to 5,813 in the 21^st century. CDR dropped from 150 to 42 deaths per 10,000 inhabitants; the IMR became significantly reduced from 231 to 17 for every 1,000 LB. Although specific rates for children under 8 years of age could be compared to children under 5, there was variability in the range and construction of the specific MR and that defined by WHO-UNICEF. Conclusions There was a higher reduction in mortality in the 21^st century due to national and international policies for controlling preventable diseases and maternal death. The 1918-19 flu pandemic significantly affected mortality in all population groups; violent causes were prominent in infant mortality in the 21^st century.

Keywords : Mortality rate; infant mortality rate; child mortality; mortality registry; history.

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