International ranking for infant mortality flawed: Canadian study

OTTAWA and VANCOUVER, Feb. 17, 2012 /CNW/ - Canada's ranking in international child health indexes would dramatically improve if measurements were standardized, according to a new study by researchers from the University of British Columbia, Dalhousie University, McGill University, the University of Calgary, and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). It was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and through PHAC's Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System.

The study, published today in the British Medical Journal, shows the surveys on perinatal, infant and child mortality rates conducted by the United Nations Children's Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are biased because many countries fail to register all babies, especially those born very small or too early.

"The contemporary rankings of industrialized countries by infant mortality and related indices are extremely misleading," says lead author Dr. K.S. Joseph, a professor in UBC's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the School of Population and Public Health, and a scientist at the Child & Family Research Institute.

"Appropriate steps should be taken to standardize birth registration and related data quality issues if we are to fully understand infant health status in industrialized countries," Dr. Joseph adds.

Using 2004 data from Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States, the researchers compared fetal, neonatal and infant mortality rates. Comparisons were also made using data for 2007 from Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

The researchers' analysis revealed wide variations in birth registration procedures, even in industrialized countries, resulting in comparisons that rewarded countries that only register infants who survived, or who had a reasonable chance of survival.

"The highly publicized, poor OECD rankings of Canada and the U.S. are almost entirely attributable to the selective registration in other countries of extremely preterm infants who survive, and the systematic under-registration of those who don't," says Michael Kramer, one of the study's authors and until recently the Scientific Director of CIHR's Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health.  "It is also important to note that the poor international rankings do not reflect inferior quality of, or access to, health care for pregnant women or newborn infants in Canada and the United States. Correcting for this problem, as is recommended by the World Health Organization, will show that our countries perform extremely well."

Canada currently ranks 18^th among OECD nations, with the United States placing 22^nd. If corrected neonatal mortality rates calculations are applied, however, Canada and the U.S. would rank 12^th and 11^th, respectively. Further, only 1 of 11 countries that ranked ahead of Canada and only 2 of the 10 countries that ranked ahead of the U.S. had mortality rates that were significantly lower. Similar findings were obtained in rankings based on fetal and infant death rates.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's health research investment agency. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 14,100 health researchers and trainees across Canada. www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca

UBC Faculty of Medicine provides innovative programs in the health and life sciences, teaching students at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels. Its faculty members received $295 million in research funds, 54 percent of UBC's total research revenues, in 2010-11. For more information, visit www.med.ubc.ca.

The Child & Family Research Institute conducts discovery, clinical and applied research to benefit the health of children and families. It is the largest institute of its kind in Western Canada. CFRI works in close partnership with the University of British Columbia, BC Children's Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre, agencies of the Provincial Health Services Authority, and BC Children's Hospital Foundation. CFRI has additional important relationships with BC's five regional health authorities and with BC academic institutions Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, the University of Northern British Columbia, and the British Columbia Institute of Technology. For more information, visit www.cfri.ca.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is the main Government of Canada agency responsible for public health in Canada. PHAC's Perinatal Surveillance System (CPSS) conducts surveillance of maternal, fetal, and infant health determinants and outcomes in Canada.

Katherine Came
UBC School of Population and
Public Health
604-822-0530
[email protected]

David Coulombe
Media Relations
Canadian Institutes of Health
Research
613-941-4563
[email protected]