International Ranking of Infant Mortality Rates: Taiwan Compared with European Countries
Rankings of infant mortality rates are commonly cited international comparisons to assess the health status of individual countries. We compared the infant mortality rate of Taiwan with those of European countries for 2004 according to two definitions. Methods: First, the countries were ranked on th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2016-08-01
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| Series: | Pediatrics and Neonatology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1875957215001795 |
| _version_ | 1828521157300584448 |
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| author | Fu-Wen Liang Tsung-Hsueh Lu Mei-Hwan Wu Hung-Chi Lue Tung-Liang Chiang Ya-Li Huang Lea-Hua Chen |
| author_facet | Fu-Wen Liang Tsung-Hsueh Lu Mei-Hwan Wu Hung-Chi Lue Tung-Liang Chiang Ya-Li Huang Lea-Hua Chen |
| author_sort | Fu-Wen Liang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rankings of infant mortality rates are commonly cited international comparisons to assess the health status of individual countries. We compared the infant mortality rate of Taiwan with those of European countries for 2004 according to two definitions.
Methods: First, the countries were ranked on the basis of crude infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality rates. The countries were then ranked according to the mortality rates calculated after exclusion of live births with a known birth weight of <1000 g, which is the definition set by the World Health Organization.
Results: Taiwan was ranked 11th, 12th, and 15th among 26 high-income countries for crude infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality rates, respectively. The ranks were 12th, 16th, and 15th, respectively, for mortality rates, excluding live births with a birth weight of <1000 g. However, in only seven, four, and 10 countries were the mortality rate ratios statistically significantly lower than Taiwan in infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality, respectively, according to the second definition.
Conclusion: The ranking of Taiwan was similar (11th vs. 12th) according the two definitions. However, after consideration of the confidence interval, only six countries (Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Belgium, Austria, and Germany) had infant mortality rates statistically significantly lower than those of Taiwan in 2004. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T19:43:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-398f2024b9e24e369778a04f0de9a596 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1875-9572 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T19:43:46Z |
| publishDate | 2016-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pediatrics and Neonatology |
| spelling | doaj.art-398f2024b9e24e369778a04f0de9a5962022-12-22T00:52:57ZengElsevierPediatrics and Neonatology1875-95722016-08-0157432633210.1016/j.pedneo.2015.07.006International Ranking of Infant Mortality Rates: Taiwan Compared with European CountriesFu-Wen Liang0Tsung-Hsueh Lu1Mei-Hwan Wu2Hung-Chi Lue3Tung-Liang Chiang4Ya-Li Huang5Lea-Hua Chen6National Cheng Kung University Research Center for Health Data and Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, TaiwanNational Cheng Kung University Research Center for Health Data and Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, TaiwanDepartment of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanChild Health Alliance Taiwan, Taipei, TaiwanInstitute of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Public Health, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Statistics, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, TaiwanRankings of infant mortality rates are commonly cited international comparisons to assess the health status of individual countries. We compared the infant mortality rate of Taiwan with those of European countries for 2004 according to two definitions. Methods: First, the countries were ranked on the basis of crude infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality rates. The countries were then ranked according to the mortality rates calculated after exclusion of live births with a known birth weight of <1000 g, which is the definition set by the World Health Organization. Results: Taiwan was ranked 11th, 12th, and 15th among 26 high-income countries for crude infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality rates, respectively. The ranks were 12th, 16th, and 15th, respectively, for mortality rates, excluding live births with a birth weight of <1000 g. However, in only seven, four, and 10 countries were the mortality rate ratios statistically significantly lower than Taiwan in infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality, respectively, according to the second definition. Conclusion: The ranking of Taiwan was similar (11th vs. 12th) according the two definitions. However, after consideration of the confidence interval, only six countries (Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Belgium, Austria, and Germany) had infant mortality rates statistically significantly lower than those of Taiwan in 2004.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1875957215001795infant mortalityinternational comparisonsneonatal mortalitypostneonatal mortalityTaiwan |
| spellingShingle | Fu-Wen Liang Tsung-Hsueh Lu Mei-Hwan Wu Hung-Chi Lue Tung-Liang Chiang Ya-Li Huang Lea-Hua Chen International Ranking of Infant Mortality Rates: Taiwan Compared with European Countries Pediatrics and Neonatology infant mortality international comparisons neonatal mortality postneonatal mortality Taiwan |
| title | International Ranking of Infant Mortality Rates: Taiwan Compared with European Countries |
| title_full | International Ranking of Infant Mortality Rates: Taiwan Compared with European Countries |
| title_fullStr | International Ranking of Infant Mortality Rates: Taiwan Compared with European Countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | International Ranking of Infant Mortality Rates: Taiwan Compared with European Countries |
| title_short | International Ranking of Infant Mortality Rates: Taiwan Compared with European Countries |
| title_sort | international ranking of infant mortality rates taiwan compared with european countries |
| topic | infant mortality international comparisons neonatal mortality postneonatal mortality Taiwan |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1875957215001795 |
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