Sociodemographic characteristics of maternal mortality in Japan: An analysis of national data from 2010 to 2022.

OBJECTIVE

There is a paucity of studies investigating sociodemographic characteristics of maternal mortality in Japan. In this study, we investigated the sociodemographic factors associated with maternal mortality in Japan using national data.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Vital Statistics data in Japan (birth and mortality data) from 2010 to 2022 were used in the analysis. Region, maternal age group, maternal nationality, maternal marital status, and the main type of occupation in the household (household occupation) were used as sociodemographic variables. The maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births, maternal age group-specific maternal mortality ratio, and the maternal mortality ratio standardized by maternal age group were calculated by the sociodemographic characteristics.

RESULTS

A total of 12,535,198 live births and 457 maternal deaths were included in the analysis. The age-standardized maternal mortality ratio of metropolitan areas was the lowest among regions. The age-standardized maternal mortality ratio of non-Japanese mothers was approximately twice as high as that of Japanese mothers, and the ratio of unmarried mothers was approximately five times as high as that of married mothers. The age-standardized maternal mortality ratio of households with a full-time worker in a larger company and unemployed households was the lowest and highest, respectively, among household occupations, and that of unemployed households was approximately nine times as high as that of households with a full-time worker in a larger company.

CONCLUSIONS

Some sociodemographic factors, such as maternal marital status and type of household occupation, were associated with maternal mortality in Japan.