Time trend of undernutrition mortality in Colombia, 2005-2019

Abstract

Objective. To describe the time trends of mortality attributable to malnutrition in Colombia in the period 2005-2019, overall and disaggregated by age and sex. Methods. Ecological study based on secondary data on mortality due to undernutrition as the underlying cause of death according to vital statistics. Crude, age- and sex-specific, and age-standardized annual mortality rates per 100 000 population were calculated. The direct method was used, and the reference population was that proposed by the World Health Organization for 2000-2025. A segmented linear regression or change-point analysis was performed. Results. A total of 26 200 records of deaths due to undernutrition were analyzed for the study period, which corresponds to 0.84% of the total number of deaths in Colombia. The mortality rate in the 0-to-4-year age group was 9.9 per 100 000 population; in the 85-and-older age group, it reached 137 deaths per 100 000 population. All significant adjustments had a negative impact on the model trend, indicating a reduction in mortality rates. The annual percent change was significant for the period 2007-2017, when the mortality rate decreased 2.8% in men (95% confidence interval [95%CI]: -4.3, -1.3) and 3.2% in women (95%CI: -5.0, -1.4). Conclusions. The overall prevalence of mortality attributable to undernutrition in Colombia is low, increasing at the extremes of age, and has been following a downward trend, especially among younger age groups and women.