Neonatal mortality trends in the 21st century: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

IF 3 4区医学 Q1 PEDIATRICS

Jornal de pediatria Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-17 DOI:10.1016/j.jped.2026.101519

Dongqing Gu , Xiaofei Zheng , Yan Zhou , Fengjie Tan , Rui Gui , Linna Wei , Lubin Liu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

Neonatal mortality remains a significant global health challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to analyze the trends and causes of neonatal mortality from 2000 to 2021.

Methods

Data on all-cause and cause-specific mortality were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Joinpoint regressions were employed to calculate the annual percentage change and the average annual percentage change. Pearson's correlation was utilized to estimate the relationships between mortality rates and the Human Development Index.

Results

The global all-cause neonatal mortality rate has declined by an average of 2.1% per year since 2000, while the absolute number of neonatal deaths remained at 2.19 million globally in 2021. Neonatal disorders continued to be the leading cause of death among neonates in 2021, followed by congenital birth defects, lower respiratory infections, sexually transmitted infections excluding HIV, diarrheal diseases, and malaria. The neonatal mortality rate varied significantly across different countries and territories, ranging from 0.61 per 1000 livebirths in Andorra to 55.35 per 1000 livebirths in South Sudan. By 2021, 120 countries (58.8%) had achieved the Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 target. Additionally, strong negative correlations were found between mortality rates and Human Development Index (r = -0.867, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Despite significant progress, regional disparities persist; only half of the countries achieved the Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 target by 2021. These findings emphasize prioritized interventions for neonatal disorders in low/middle-income countries and highlight socioeconomic development as critical to equitable mortality reduction within public health frameworks.

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21世纪新生儿死亡率趋势：2021年全球疾病负担研究结果

目的：新生儿死亡率仍然是一个重大的全球健康挑战，特别是在低收入和中等收入国家。本研究旨在分析2000年至2021年新生儿死亡率的趋势和原因。方法：全因死亡率和原因特异性死亡率数据来自2021年全球疾病负担研究。采用结合点回归计算年变化百分比和平均年变化百分比。使用Pearson相关来估计死亡率与人类发展指数之间的关系。结果：自2000年以来，全球新生儿全因死亡率平均每年下降2.1%，而2021年全球新生儿死亡绝对人数保持在219万。新生儿疾病仍然是2021年新生儿死亡的主要原因，其次是先天性出生缺陷、下呼吸道感染、不包括艾滋病毒的性传播感染、腹泻病和疟疾。不同国家和地区的新生儿死亡率差别很大，从安道尔的0.61‰到南苏丹的55.35‰不等。到2021年，120个国家（58.8%）实现了可持续发展目标3.2的具体目标。此外，死亡率与人类发展指数之间存在很强的负相关性（r = -0.867,p ）。结论：尽管取得了重大进展，但区域差异仍然存在；只有一半的国家到2021年实现了可持续发展目标3.2的具体目标。这些研究结果强调在低收入/中等收入国家对新生儿疾病采取优先干预措施，并强调社会经济发展对于在公共卫生框架内公平降低死亡率至关重要。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Jornal de pediatria 医学-小儿科

CiteScore

5.60

自引率

3.00%

发文量

审稿时长

43 days

期刊介绍： Jornal de Pediatria is a bimonthly publication of the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics (Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria, SBP). It has been published without interruption since 1934. Jornal de Pediatria publishes original articles and review articles covering various areas in the field of pediatrics. By publishing relevant scientific contributions, Jornal de Pediatria aims at improving the standards of pediatrics and of the healthcare provided for children and adolescents in general, as well to foster debate about health.