Skip to main content

Some NLM-NCBI services and products are experiencing heavy traffic, which may affect performance and availability. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. For assistance, please contact our Help Desk at info@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 1993 Aug;83(8):1134–1138. doi: 10.2105/ajph.83.8.1134

Vietnamese infant and childhood mortality in relation to the Vietnam War.

D A Savitz 1, N M Thang 1, I E Swenson 1, E M Stone 1
PMCID: PMC1695175  PMID: 8342722

Abstract

OBJECTIVES. There is obvious potential for war to adversely affect infant and childhood mortality through direct trauma and disruption of the societal infrastructure. This study examined trends in Vietnam through the period of the war. METHODS. The 1988 Vietnam Demographic and Health Survey collected data on reproductive history and family planning from 4172 women aged 15 through 49 years in 12 selected provinces of Vietnam. The 13,137 births and 737 deaths to children younger than age 6 reported by the respondents were analyzed. RESULTS. For the country as a whole, infant and childhood mortality dropped by 30% to 80% from the prewar period to the wartime period and was stable thereafter. In provinces in which the war was most intense, mortality did not decline from the prewar period to the wartime period but declined after the war, consistent with an adverse effect during the wartime period. CONCLUSIONS. The data are limited by assignment of birth location on the basis of mother's current residence and by inadequate information on areas of war activity. Nonetheless, the data do not indicate a widespread, sizable adverse effect of the war on national infant and childhood mortality in Vietnam but suggest detrimental effects in selected provinces.

Full text

PDF
1134

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Boyle C. A., Decouflé P., O'Brien T. R. Long-term health consequences of military service in Vietnam. Epidemiol Rev. 1989;11:1–27. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.epirev.a036031. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Copeland K. T., Checkoway H., McMichael A. J., Holbrook R. H. Bias due to misclassification in the estimation of relative risk. Am J Epidemiol. 1977 May;105(5):488–495. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112408. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Sterling T. D., Arundel A. Review of recent Vietnamese studies on the carcinogenic and teratogenic effects of phenoxy herbicide exposure. Int J Health Serv. 1986;16(2):265–278. doi: 10.2190/DB1C-GQ4U-7QJW-1DYQ. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Public Health are provided here courtesy of American Public Health Association

RESOURCES