Infant mortality due to congenital malformations in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (1998-2015): Spatial, temporal analysis and relation to the socioeconomic status.

INTRODUCTION

In Argentina, congenital malformations (CM) account for the second cause of death among infants younger than 1 year.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze spatial and temporal variation in infant mortality due to CM in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and its relation to a socioeconomic development indicator.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Births and deaths among infants younger than 1 year were coded using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10); data were provided by the Ministry of Health. Geographical areas: northern, central and southern. The nervous system, the cardiovascular system, chromosomal abnormalities, and 28 specific malformations were evaluated. Infant mortality rate due to CM (IMR-CM) and the percentage of deaths from CM (PD-CM) were estimated in 3 periods (1998-2003, 2004-2009, 2010-2015). Secular trend and risk of death were estimated using the Poisson regression model. A socioeconomic development indicator correlated to the IMR-CM and the PD-CM was obtained by means of a principal component analysis.

RESULTS

The IMR-CM and the PD-CM had, respectively, a negative and positive secular trend with statistical significance, and exhibited a differentiation by areas. The IMR-CM values decreased for central nervous system and cardiovascular system malformations, and increased for chromosomal abnormalities (p < 0.05). The IMR-CM and the PD-CM were positively and negatively correlated, respectively, with the socioeconomic indicator (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Infant mortality indicators due to CM in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires are spatially and temporally heterogeneous, and are related to the socioeconomic characteristics of the areas.