Cause Specific Infant Mortality and Ambient Temperature in Northern Sweden 1860-1892

Johan Junkka , Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research (CEDAR), Umeå University
Maria Hiltunen, Umeå University

Infants are vulnerable to climate variability, especially in pre-industrial societies where infant mortality was high. However, little is known about how extreme temperature affects cause-specific infant mortality in high mortality settings. We investigate the association between ambient temperature and cause-specific infant mortality. Parish register data from the Sundsvall region in Northern Sweden covering the period 1860-1900 were used in combination with daily temperature data from Härnösand. Mortality due to water- and food-born infectious diseases, and airborne infectious diseases were modeled as a function of mean temperature exposure in the previous days using Poisson time-series analysis. Preliminary results show a U-shaped association to all-cause mortality, a negative association to mortality from airborne infectious diseases and a positive association to waterborne diseases.

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 Presented in Session 65. Causes and consequences of mortality in early life in historical Europe