Season of birth is not associated with delayed childhood mortality in Upper River Division,The Gambia

There is evidence that season of birth may predict adult mortality from inf ectious diseases in rural Gambia. Using data collected over a five-year per iod from the rural, eastern region of the Gambia, we examined whether the s eason of birth influences mortality in childhood. 26 894 births and 3776 de aths among children under the age of five years were recorded in this regio n during the period 1989-1993. The estimated 1-4 year population was 95 355 . In children aged 1-4 years, the mortality rate per 1000 per year mas 16.1 (95% CI 14.9, 17.2.) for those born in the 'harvest' season (January to Ju ne), which was not significantly different from the rate of 17.9 (95% CI 16 .7, 19.0) recorded for those born in the 'hungry' season (July to December) (age-stratified Mantel-Haenszel mortality ratio 0.91, 95% CI 0.83, 1.01; p = 0.08). Nearly all deaths of 1-4 year olds were attributed to infectious diseases, with malaria accounting for over 40%. None of the cause-specific child mortality rates differed significantly according to the season of bir th. These data suggest that beyond infancy, when It is easier to separate t he effect of season on cause of death from that of the season of birth, the re is no marked difference in the rate of death between Gambian children bo rn in the harvest season and those born in the hungry season.