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Environmental and socio-demographic determinants of under-5 mortality in India: A survival analysis on Indian DHS data

Vinod Joseph K J, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

Environmental threats to child health are widespread and multiply as nations undergo industrial development and countries pass through the epidemiologic transition. Identifying these hazards is an essential foundation for setting-based child survival interventions. The study's objective is to investigate whether environmental exposures and socio-demographic factors affect under-five mortality in India. This study uses the latest National family health survey-4 data. The methods of analysis include bivariate statistics and Cox proportional hazard regression model. The study results reveal that environmental exposures such as air pollution, water pollution and drought are significantly associated with under-five mortality in India. The hazard ratio shows that the children living in the air polluted, water polluted, and drought-prone areas are at 1.09, 1.071 and 1.055 times higher risk of under-five death in the country. The hazard was highest in the first month of life depresses after that. There is a considerable gap in survival plots between children living in air polluted, water polluted and drought-prone areas. This study will help address an urgent need to improve our understanding of the relationship between environmental risk factors and human health.

Keywords: Mortality, Applied demography, Environmental studies

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session 102. Impact of Environmental Factors on Population Health and Wellbeing (II)