Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41184029›Full record

Observational studyBMJ global health2025

Causes and risk factors for deaths in young infants in South Asia: the ANISA prospective population-based observational cohort study.

Gary L Darmstadt, Safa Abdalla, Mohammad Shahidul Islam, Shams El Arifeen, Melissa L Arvay, Abdullah H Baqui, Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Anuradha Bose, Nicholas E Connor, Belal Hossain and 15 more

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMJ global health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

25 authors.

Gary L DarmstadtDepartment of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA gdarmsta@stanford.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-7522-5824
Safa AbdallaDepartment of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Mohammad Shahidul IslamChild Health Research Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Shams El ArifeenMaternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research Bangladesh (icddrb), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Melissa L ArvayCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3502-4259
Abdullah H BaquiDepartment of International Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Zulfiqar A BhuttaCentre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-0637-599X
Anuradha BoseChristian Medical College and Hospital Vellore, Vellore, India.
Nicholas E ConnorDepartment of Research Services, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Belal HossainChild Health Research Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Rita IsaacChristian Medical College and Hospital Vellore, Vellore, India.
Arif MahmudDepartment of International Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Dipak K MitraPublic Health, North South University, Dhaka, Dhaka District, Bangladesh.ORCID 0000-0001-8680-4146
Luke C MullanyDepartment of International Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Imran NisarDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karrachi, Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0002-2378-4720
Kalpana PanigrahiAIPH University, Bhubaneswar, India.
Pinaki PanigrahiDepartment of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Qazi Sadeq-Ur RahmanMaternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research Bangladesh (icddrb), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Senjuti SahaChild Health Research Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Sajid B SoofiDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karrachi, Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0003-4192-8406
Nardos SolomonDepartment of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Mathuram SantoshamDepartment of International Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Stephanie J SchragCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Shamim A QaziIndependent Consultant Paediatrician, Geneva, Switzerland.
Samir K SahaChild Health Research Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Funding

the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation OPPGH-5307
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionStrategies for reducing infant mortality require accurate, local, population-level data. We conducted a population-based observational study in three countries in South Asia to describe risk factors, causes and rates of mortality in young infants.

methodsPregnancies, births and pregnancy outcomes were determined through household surveillance, and cause of deaths was ascertained by verbal autopsy. Cox regression was used to identify risk factors for deaths during days 0-<3, 3-<7 and 7-<60.

resultsAmong 73 622 pregnancy outcomes, 4638 deaths were identified, including 1669 stillbirths (36.0%), 1347 (29.0%) deaths among non-registered liveborn infants who died before the first home visit by community health workers (CHWs), and 1622 (35.0%) deaths that occurred during days 0-<60 among liveborn registered infants. Most deaths among liveborn infants (59.3%, 1757 of 2965) took place within 3 days of birth. The most common causes of death over the young infant period were infections/sepsis (32.5%, n=963 of 2,965), birth asphyxia (29.0%, n=859) and preterm birth/low birth weight (14.1%, n=418). Risk factors for mortality included early morbidity (need for resuscitation, intrapartum infection/antibiotics, multiple gestation, congenital anomalies), environmental factors (smoke exposure, maternal betel chewing) and poor maternal access to quality care (history of a prior neonatal death, lack of care seeking for labour complications). Protective factors included biology (female sex, higher birth weight), essential newborn care (immediate breastfeeding, clean cord care) and access to quality maternal and newborn care (antenatal care, facility birth, skilled birth attendant, maternal education, household wealth).

conclusionsOur population-based data highlight the importance of addressing deaths due to birth asphyxia and infections, while recognising that the relative burden of deaths due to preterm birth and congenital anomalies is increasing globally. Access to quality community-based and facility-based maternal and newborn care is critical to efforts to reduce mortality in young infants in high-mortality settings such as rural South Asia.

Indexed as

Infant MortalityAdultAsiaAsia, SouthernCause of DeathFemaleHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMalePregnancyPregnancy OutcomeProspective StudiesRisk FactorsStillbirthYoung AdultChild healthEpidemiologyGlobal HealthPaediatricsPublic Health

Identifiers

PMID41184029
PMCPMC12584570

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.