Abstract
The contribution of severe malnutrition to child mortality was examined in a rural Bangladeshi population of 200,000 under intensive demographic surveillance. In 1986–1987 one-third of all the deaths in children between 6 and 36 months of age were associated with severe malnutrition, and 79% of those deaths were associated with persistent diarrhoea. The relative risk of dying from diarrhoea among severely malnourished children, as opposed to those who were not severely malnourished, was 17. The attributable risk was 49%. For all causes of death combined, the relative risk was 8 and the attributable risk 30%. Sixty per cent of all deaths in this age group occurred during the five post-monsoon months. The risk of dying from severe malnutrition was more than twice as high among girls as among boys. The specific mortality due to severe malnutrition was significantly lower in the half of the surveillance area covered by an intensive mother-child health and family planning (MCH-FP) programme than in the half covered by the regular national health services, suggesting the programme's effectiveness.