Khanna R, Kumar A, Vaghela J F, Sreenivas V, Puliyel J M
Department of Community Medicine, St Stephen's Hospital, Tis Hazari, Delhi 110054, India.
BMJ. 2003 Jul 19;327(7407):126. doi: 10.1136/bmj.327.7407.126.
To determine whether the imbalance in the sex ratio in India can be explained by less favourable treatment of girls in infancy.
Analysis of results of verbal autopsy reports over a five year period.
Community health project in urban India.
Deaths from all causes in infants aged less than 1 year.
The sex ratio at birth was 869 females per 1000 males. The mean infant mortality was 1.3 times higher in females than in males (72 v 55 per 1000). Diarrhoea was responsible for 22% of deaths overall, though twice as many girls died from diarrhoea. There were no significant differences in the numbers of deaths from causes such as birth asphyxia, septicaemia, prematurity, and congenital anomalies. In 10% of deaths there was no preceding illness and no satisfactory cause was found. Three out of every four such deaths were in girls.
The excess number of unexplained deaths and deaths due to treatable conditions such as diarrhoeal disease in girls may be because girls are regarded and treated less favourably in India.
确定印度的性别比例失衡是否可归因于婴儿期女孩受到的待遇较差。
对五年期间的口头尸检报告结果进行分析。
印度城市的社区卫生项目。
1岁以下婴儿的各种死因。
出生时的性别比例为每1000名男性中有869名女性。女性的平均婴儿死亡率比男性高1.3倍(每1000名中分别为72例和55例)。腹泻导致的死亡占总死亡人数的22%,不过死于腹泻的女孩人数是男孩的两倍。出生窒息、败血症、早产和先天性异常等原因导致的死亡人数没有显著差异。10%的死亡病例没有前驱疾病且未找到令人满意的死因。每四例此类死亡中有三例是女孩。
女孩中不明原因死亡以及因腹泻病等可治疗疾病导致的死亡人数过多,可能是因为在印度女孩受到的重视和待遇较差。