Prevalence of and factors associated with under-5 mortality in South Asia.

Background: This study investigated the prevalence of and the factors associated with under-5 mortality across five South Asian countries.

Methods: Cross-sectional pooled data from 1999 through 2014 collected from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in five South Asian countries (Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan) were used. Associations of under-5 mortality with sociodemographic characteristics and maternal and child factors were studied using the Cox proportional-hazard method. The estimates were presented as hazard ratios (HR) and their 95% CIs. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to describe time-to-event of under-5 survival patterns.

Results: Overall, 15-year prevalence of under-5 mortality in South Asian countries was 10%, with Nepal having the highest prevalence (11.1%) and the Maldives the lowest (5%). In a multivariable model in pooled data, older age of mother (HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.68-0.72), being employed (HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.07-1.12), having a higher level of education (HR 0.36, 95%, CI 0.32-0.40) and having a husband with higher level of education (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.70-0.78) were significantly associated with under-5 mortality. Factors associated with under-5 mortality were mostly common across countries.

Conclusion: The prevalence of under-5 mortality is still high in South Asia. Most of the studied sociodemographic factors were associated with under-5 mortality and were common across South Asian countries.