Table 2.
All identified cause of death categories, by age group and position in causal chain
| Immediate cause or comorbid cause | Underlying cause | Immediate, comorbid, or underlying cause | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stillbirths (n=180) | |||
| Perinatal asphyxia or hypoxia | 5 (3%) | 130 (72%) | 135 (75%) |
| Congenital infection or sepsis | 7 (4%) | 27 (15%) | 30 (17%) |
| Congenital birth defects | 2 (1%) | 7 (4%) | 8 (4%) |
| Other neonatal disorders | 6 (3%) | 2 (1%) | 8 (4%) |
| Neonatal preterm birth complications | 4 (2%) | 1 (1%) | 5 (3%) |
| Umbilical cord complications | 1 (1%) | 1 (1%) | 2 (1%) |
| Placental complications | 0 | 2 (1%) | 2 (1%) |
| Syphilis | 0 | 2 (1%) | 2 (1%) |
| Birth trauma | 1 (1%) | 0 | 1 (1%) |
| Malpresentation before labour | 1 (1%) | 0 | 1 (1%) |
| Neonatal deaths (n=449) | |||
| Preterm birth complications | 182 (41%) | 187 (42%) | 227 (51%) |
| Sepsis | 134 (30%) | 50 (11%) | 181 (40%) |
| Perinatal asphyxia or hypoxia | 29 (6%) | 98 (22%) | 127 (28%) |
| Lower respiratory tract infections | 86 (19%) | 4 (1%) | 90 (20%) |
| Meningitis or encephalitis | 61 (14%) | 4 (1%) | 65 (14%) |
| Other neonatal disorders | 52 (12%) | 9 (2%) | 60 (13%) |
| Congenital birth defects | 13 (3%) | 39 (9%) | 47 (10%) |
| Congenital infection | 27 (6%) | 20 (4%) | 46 (10%) |
| Neonatal encephalopathy | 34 (8%) | 7 (2%) | 41 (9%) |
| Neonatal aspiration syndromes | 10 (2%) | 5 (1%) | 15 (3%) |
| Other respiratory disease | 9 (2%) | 0 | 9 (2%) |
| Kidney disease | 8 (2%) | 0 | 8 (2%) |
| Other infections | 7 (2%) | 1 (<1%) | 8 (2%) |
| Other | 4 (1%) | 1 (<1%) | 5 (1%) |
| Liver disease | 3 (1%) | 0 | 3 (1%) |
| Chorioamnionitis and membrane complications | 0 | 3 (1%) | 3 (1%) |
| Birth trauma | 2 (<1%) | 0 | 2 (<1%) |
| Paralytic ileus and intestinal obstruction | 2 (<1%) | 0 | 2 (<1%) |
| Other disorders of fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base balance | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) | 2 (<1%) |
| Placental complications | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) | 2 (<1%) |
| Umbilical cord complications | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) | 2 (<1%) |
| HIV | 0 | 2 (<1%) | 2 (<1%) |
| Syphilis | 0 | 2 (<1%) | 2 (<1%) |
| Liver disease | 1 (<1%) | 0 | 1 (<1%) |
| Maternal HIV | 1 (<1%) | 0 | 1 (<1%) |
| Other endocrine, metabolic, blood, and immune disorders | 1 (<1%) | 0 | 1 (<1%) |
| Caesarean delivery | 0 | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) |
| Diarrheal diseases | 0 | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) |
| Injury | 0 | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) |
| Maternal hypertension | 0 | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) |
| Maternal infection | 0 | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) |
| Measles | 0 | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) |
| Obstructed labour and fetal malpresentation | 0 | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) |
| Child deaths*(n=304) | |||
| Lower respiratory tract infections | 143 (47%) | 37 (12%) | 174 (57%) |
| Sepsis | 119 (39%) | 6 (2%) | 124 (41%) |
| Malnutrition | 18 (6%) | 31 (10%) | 49 (16%) |
| Congenital birth defects | 13 (4%) | 39 (13%) | 45 (15%) |
| Diarrhoeal diseases | 19 (6%) | 24 (8%) | 43 (14%) |
| HIV | 0 | 35 (12%) | 35 (12%) |
| Preterm birth complications | 15 (5%) | 29 (10%) | 32 (11%) |
| Malaria | 7 (2%) | 24 (8%) | 31 (10%) |
| Meningitis or encephalitis | 28 (9%) | 2 (1%) | 30 (10%) |
| Other infections | 21 (7%) | 6 (2%) | 27 (9%) |
| Injury | 2 (1%) | 15 (5%) | 17 (6%) |
| Other respiratory disease | 12 (4%) | 5 (2%) | 16 (5%) |
| Other | 8 (3%) | 2 (1%) | 10 (3%) |
| Other neurological disorders | 7 (2%) | 4 (1%) | 10 (3%) |
| Liver disease | 5 (2%) | 3 (1%) | 8 (3%) |
| Other endocrine, metabolic, blood, and immune disorders | 6 (2%) | 2 (1%) | 7 (2%) |
| Congenital infection | 2 (1%) | 4 (1%) | 6 (2%) |
| Anaemias | 5 (2%) | 0 | 5 (2%) |
| Poisoning | 4 (1%) | 1 (<1%) | 5 (2%) |
| Heart diseases | 3 (1%) | 2 (1%) | 5 (2%) |
| Tuberculosis | 3 (1%) | 2 (1%) | 5 (2%) |
| Kidney disease | 4 (1%) | 0 | 4 (1%) |
| Other neonatal disorders | 4 (1%) | 0 | 4 (1%) |
| Paralytic ileus and intestinal obstruction | 3 (1%) | 2 (1%) | 4 (1%) |
| Other skin and subcutaneous diseases | 2 (1%) | 2 (1%) | 4 (1%) |
| Sickle cell disorders | 1 (<1%) | 3 (1%) | 4 (1%) |
| Other disorders of fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base balance | 3 (1%) | 0 | 3 (1%) |
| Other immunodeficiencies | 2 (1%) | 1 (<1%) | 3 (1%) |
| Epilepsy | 1 (<1%) | 2 (1%) | 3 (1%) |
| Cancer | 0 | 3 (1%) | 3 (1%) |
| Maternal HIV | 0 | 3 (1%) | 3 (1%) |
| Neonatal encephalopathy | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) | 2 (1%) |
| Other injury | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) | 2 (1%) |
| Upper respiratory tract infections | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) | 2 (1%) |
| Measles | 0 | 2 (1%) | 2 (1%) |
| Liver disease | 1 (<1%) | 0 | 1 (<1%) |
| Other gastrointestinal disease | 1 (<1%) | 0 | 1 (<1%) |
| Motor neuron disease | 0 | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) |
| Perinatal asphyxia or hypoxia | 0 | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) |
| Road injuries | 0 | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) |
| Sudden infant death syndrome | 0 | 1 (<1%) | 1 (<1%) |
Data are n (%). Specific ICD-10 codes comprising each cause of death category are shown in the appendix (p 2). Cases with undetermined and unclassified causes were excluded from this table (eight stillbirths, seven neonatal deaths, and six child deaths). Counts in the immediate, comorbid, or underlying cause column do not always equal the sum of counts in the immediate or comorbid cause columns, since an individual case could have one or more diagnoses in a given category in both immediate or comorbid cause columns, but was counted as a single case in the immediate, comorbid, or underlying cause column.
*
Age 1–59 months.