Association of socioeconomic risk factors with under 5-year mortality in Zabol, Iran, during 2011-2015

Under-5 mortality is an important health indicator of a country’s development and every country is committed to decrease it. Children under-5 years are vulnerable to the imbalance of socioeconomic inequality and are dependent on the adults to remain healthy. The aim of this study was to determine the association of socioeconomic factors with under-5 mortality in Zabol.

This descriptive cross sectional study was performed on 2001 children younger than 5 years who were under the coverage of Zabol University of Medical Sciences between 2011 and 2015. The data were collected using standard questionnaires on mortality of infant and children 1-59 months old, questionnaires determining socioeconomic condition, and health center data files. The analyses were performed using SPSS software version 21, and significance level was set at 0.05 for all tests.

The most common causes of death under 5 years of age included immaturity, congenital defects, and respiratory diseases. In the logistic regression model, father's addiction, maternal literacy, socioeconomic level, and household family size were significantly associated with under-5 mortality (P<0.05). Moreover, there was a correlation between a congenital defect in the Zahak region and immaturity in the Hamun region with under-5 mortality.

Low socioeconomic status, parental addiction, and low education level were the most probable risk factors for under 5 mortality.