Diarrheal Deaths in American Children

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Abstract
We reviewed national mortality data for 1973 through 1983 to assess the importance of diarrheal diseases as a cause of preventable childhood death in the United States. An average of 500 children aged 1 month to 4 years died each year with diarrhea reported as the cause of death. These diarrheal deaths were most common among children who were younger than 1 year of age, black, and living in the South, and were most common during the winter. In Mississippi, review of fatal cases of diarrhea identified maternal factors—black race, young age, unmarried status, low level of education, and little prenatal care—to be most associated with diarrheal death in the child. Fifty percent of these deaths occurred after a child had reached a medical facility. Our findings suggest that diarrheal deaths may be preventable and that targeted interventions could contribute to improved child survival in the United States. (JAMA1988;260:3281-3285)

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