© 1987 by Oxford University Press
research-article |
Morbidity Pattern and Cause Specific Mortality During Infancy in ICDS Projects
Department of Gastroenterology & Human Nutrition, ICDS Central Technical Committee, All-India Institute Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar New Delhi-110029, India
The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme of India is now 10 years old. The present study records the causes of mortality and the pattern of morbidity amongst infants in nine (six rural, three urban) ICDS project areas over a period of 12 months. A total of 5350 infants were studied. Diarrhoea, cough, fever of short duration, and sore eyes were the common illnesses, with diarrhoea being the commonest (60 per cent). Fever, diarrhoea, and prematurity were the three main causes of death. Tetanus and respiratory infections were amongst the less important causes of mortality. The average child suffered 14 episodes of illness per year and was ill for an estimated 15 weeks in the year.