Seasonally of vital events in a pacific island population

Underwood, J. H.

doi:10.1080/19485565.1991.9988775

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…In developed countries, a shift from a summer peak in mortality towards a winter peak has been observed (ibid). In contrast, tropical countries have been, and still are, associated with excess summer mortality; this is often explained by a high prevalence of infectious and diarrhoeal disease [17,18,23-25]. The modifying effect of non-atmospheric parameters is well-demonstrated by the existence of different seasonality regimes within the same climatic region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variations of all-cause and cause-specific mortality by age, gender, and socioeconomic condition in urban and rural areas of Bangladesh

Burkart

Khan

Krämer

et al. 2011

Int J Equity Health

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BackgroundMortality exhibits seasonal variations, which to a certain extent can be considered as mid-to long-term influences of meteorological conditions. In addition to atmospheric effects, the seasonal pattern of mortality is shaped by non-atmospheric determinants such as environmental conditions or socioeconomic status. Understanding the influence of season and other factors is essential when seeking to implement effective public health measures. The pressures of climate change make an understanding of the interdependencies between season, climate and health especially important.MethodsThis study investigated daily death counts collected within the Sample Vital Registration System (VSRS) established by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). The sample was stratified by location (urban vs. rural), gender and socioeconomic status. Furthermore, seasonality was analyzed for all-cause mortality, and several cause-specific mortalities. Daily deviation from average mortality was calculated and seasonal fluctuations were elaborated using non parametric spline smoothing. A seasonality index for each year of life was calculated in order to assess the age-dependency of seasonal effects.ResultsWe found distinctive seasonal variations of mortality with generally higher levels during the cold season. To some extent, a rudimentary secondary summer maximum could be observed. The degree and shape of seasonality changed with the cause of death as well as with location, gender, and SES and was strongly age-dependent. Urban areas were seen to be facing an increased summer mortality peak, particularly in terms of cardiovascular mortality. Generally, children and the elderly faced stronger seasonal effects than youths and young adults.ConclusionThis study clearly demonstrated the complex and dynamic nature of seasonal impacts on mortality. The modifying effect of spatial and population characteristics were highlighted. While tropical regions have been, and still are, associated with a marked excess of mortality in summer, only a weakly pronounced secondary summer peak could be observed for Bangladesh, possibly due to the reduced incidence of diarrhoea-related fatalities. These findings suggest that Bangladesh is undergoing an epidemiological transition from summer to winter excess mortality, as a consequence of changes in socioeconomic conditions and health care provision.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variations of all-cause and cause-specific mortality by age, gender, and socioeconomic condition in urban and rural areas of Bangladesh

Burkart

Khan

Krämer

et al. 2011

Int J Equity Health

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“…An earlier study (Underwood, 1991) identified seasonality in vital events for this native population, with birth seasonality peaking in November for all births recorded prior %s adjustment is achieved by applying to the raw data the (Number observed for each monthhumber of days in month)…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal/offspring birth month concordance in a Pacific island population

Underwood

1995

American J Hum Biol

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Analyses of 13,863 births occurring on Guam before 1942 reveal statistically significant concordance of maternal and offspring birth months, accounting for over 17% of recorded births. A secular change by maternal birth year in month of highest concordance level coincides with changing public health measures over this historical period. Together with observed birth order effects, showing decreasing concordance values with increasing birth order rank, these findings suggest an immunological component of observed birth seasonality patterns. The potential effects of maternal-fetal immunological interactions merit greater consideration in birth seasonality studies among historical and anthropological populations. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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“…Thus, health improvements reduce flu, circulatory, and respiratory illnesses less than digestive (Landers and Mouzas, 1988). These last were the main cause of death in the past (Vögele, 2000), and currently they remain confined to the Third World (Malina and Himes, 1977;Nadal, 1970;Underwood, 1991). It is accepted that the great infant mortality decrease in Western countries (BourgeoisPichat, 1964), attributable to socio-economic and health development, is closely related to the secular reduction of mortality caused by exogenous factors, mainly deaths by digestive infections (Lee and Marschalck, 2002;Vögele, 2000).…”

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confidence: 97%

Child age influence on the seasonal death risk during the first year of life (Spain, 1975–1989)

Luna

Alonso-Ferreira

Fuster

et al. 2008

American J Hum Biol

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Infant mortality rate reflects a population's health status, which depends on several factors, such as diseases, environment, child development, and other population characteristics that can show seasonal change throughout the year. This article deals with the relevance of child age on the probability of death in the different seasons throughout the first year of life, taking into account the illnesses causing death. The study was carried out using a file from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics. To eliminate bias related to health improvement, only the 49,761 urban deaths corresponding to capital of provinces, taking place between 1975 and 1989, were considered. The variables analyzed were: the month in which death took place, disease causing death, and the child age at death. Since many causes of death are very infrequent, the analysis was limited to a selection of the most common 45,155 death cases. The causes of death analyzed were: digestive, nervous and sensory, circulatory, and respiratory diseases, delivery difficulties, congenital anomalies, and signs and syndromes (WHO, ICD-9). The infant mortality rates are associated with the child age at death. Moreover, a general ontogenetic change of the death risk can be observed, with some particularities depending on the disease analyzed. In general, regarding all infant deaths, the obtained results suggest a higher risk of dying in winter for children surviving the first month of life, whereas a summer pattern, with a maximum mortality in June, July, and August, appeared when newborns younger than 1 week were considered.

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Seasonally of vital events in a pacific island population

Cited by 9 publications

References 9 publications

Seasonal variations of all-cause and cause-specific mortality by age, gender, and socioeconomic condition in urban and rural areas of Bangladesh

Seasonal variations of all-cause and cause-specific mortality by age, gender, and socioeconomic condition in urban and rural areas of Bangladesh

Maternal/offspring birth month concordance in a Pacific island population

Child age influence on the seasonal death risk during the first year of life (Spain, 1975–1989)

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