title: Mortality of children under five and prevalence of newborn congenital anomalies in relation to macroeconomic and socioeconomic factors in Latvia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mortality of infants and children younger than 5 years is a globally recognized and broad national welfare indicator. Scientific literature has data on the correlation of mortality indicators with macroeconomic indicators. It is important to study the associations between prevalence and mortality indicators and socioeconomic factors, since deaths from congenital anomalies account for approximately 25%-30% of all deaths in infancy. The aim of the study was to analyze the overall trend in mortality of infants and young children aged 0 to 4 years in relation to macroeconomic factors in Latvia and prevalence of congenital anomalies in newborns in relation to socioeconomic factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Newborns' Register and Causes of Death Register were used as data sources; data on specific socioeconomic factors were retrieved from the Central Statistics Office.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results of the study show a strong correlation between mortality in children younger than 5 years and gross domestic product, as well as health budget in LVL per capita and the national unemployment level. The average decrease in infant mortality from congenital anomalies in Latvia was found to be 6.8 cases per 100,000 live births.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a strong correlation between child mortality and socioeconomic situation in the country. There is a need to analyze the data on child mortality in a transnational context on a regular basis and studying the correlations between child mortality indicators and socioeconomic indicators and health care management parameters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia. inguna.ebela@inbox.lv
authors.forename: Inguna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ebela
authors.forename: Irisa
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zile
authors.forename: Aleksandrs
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zakis
authors.forename: Valdis
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Folkmanis
authors.forename: Ingrida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rumba-Rozenfelde
mesh_terms: D046688:Child Mortality; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007844:Latvia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors