Does Birth Interval Matter in Under-Five Mortality? Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys from Eight Countries in West Africa

Table 3

Multilevel regression analysis of the association between under-five mortality in West Africa and sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics.

Variables	Model 0	Model 1; cOR (95% CI)	Model 2; aOR (95% CI)	Model 3; aOR (95% CI)	Model 4; aOR (95% CI)	Model 5; aOR (95% CI)
Birth interval
≤2 years		Ref				Ref
>2 years		0.56 (0.51-0.62)				0.55 (0.50-0.61)
Mother’s age
<20 years			Ref			Ref
20-29 years			0.73 (0.61-0.88)			0.74 (0.60-0.90)
30-49 years			0.96 (0.78-1.18)			0.88 (0.69-1.13)
Mother’s age at first birth
<20 years			Ref			Ref
20-29 years			0.86 (0.78-0.94)			0.93 (0.84-1.02)
30-49 years			0.74 (0.54-1.01)			0.78 (0.57-1.09)
Partner’s age
<30 years			Ref			Ref
30-39 years			0.88 (0.77-1.01)			0.88 (0.76-1.02)
40-49 years			1.01 (0.86-1.18)			0.99 (0.84-1.17)
50+ years			1.25 (1.05-1.48)			1.23 (1.03-1.47)
Religion
Christian			Ref			Ref
Islam			1.05 (0.95-1.17)			1.09 (0.97-1.22)
Others			0.92 (0.80-1.06)			1.04 (0.86-1.25)
Educational level
No education			Ref			Ref
Primary			0.97 (0.87-1.09)			1.02 (0.90-1.15)
Secondary			0.85 (0.75-0.96)			0.88 (0.77-1.02)
Higher			0.76 (0.57-1.00)			0.81 (0.60-1.10)
Employment status
Unemployed			Ref			Ref
Employed			1.39 (1.23-1.57)			1.16 (1.02-1.33)
Partner’s employment status
Unemployed			Ref			Ref
Employed			1.20 (0.86-1.66)			1.28 (0.92-1.77)
Sexual autonomy
No			Ref			Ref
Yes			1.05 (0.95-1.16)			0.99 (0.89-1.11)
Exposure to mass media
Not exposed			Ref			Ref
Exposed			0.95 (0.88-1.04)			1.12 (1.02-1.23)
Current pregnancy intended
Then			Ref			Ref
Later			0.81 (0.68-0.98)			0.75 (0.62-0.90)
No more			0.75 (0.66-0.84)			0.70 (0.62-0.79)
Mother experience IPV
No			Ref			Ref
Yes			1.10 (0.99-1.22)			1.08 (0.97-1.21)
Contraceptive use
No			Ref			Ref
Yes			0.69 (0.61-0.78)			0.70 (0.62-0.79)
Sex of child
Male				Ref		Ref
Female				0.82 (0.76-0.89)		0.83 (0.76-0.90)
Size of child at birth
Very large				Ref		Ref
Larger than average				0.92 (0.79-1.06)		0.89 (0.77-1.04)
Average				1.03 (0.90-1.17)		0.96 (0.84-1.10)
Smaller than average				1.29 (1.09-1.52)		1.24 (1.05-1.47)
Very small				2.01 (1.65-2.44)		2.07 (1.70-2.53)
Birth order
First				Ref
2-3				0.79 (0.69-0.90)		0.72 (0.62-0.84)
4 or more				1.22 (1.09-1.38)		1.02 (0.86-1.23)
Type of birth
Virginal birth				Ref		Ref
Caesarean birth				1.81 (1.50-2.18)
ANC attendance
No				Ref		Ref
Yes				0.90 (0.83-0.98)		0.96 (0.87-1.05)
Place of delivery
Home				Ref		Ref
Health facility				0.77 (0.68-0.87)		0.97 (0.85-1.11)
Delivery assistance
TBA/others				Ref		Ref
SBA/health professionals				0.99 (0.87-1.12)		0.91 (0.79-1.03)
Place of residence
Urban					Ref	Ref
Rural					1.04 (0.93-1.16)	1.01 (0.90-1.14)
Wealth quintile
Poorest					Ref	Ref
Poorer					0.97 (0.87-1.09)	1.04 (0.92-1.17)
Middle					0.86 (0.76-0.97)	0.96 (0.85-1.09)
Richer					0.83 (0.73-0.95)	1.00 (0.87-1.16)
Richest					0.53 (0.45-0.63)	0.72 (0.59-0.87)
Country
Burkina Faso					Ref	Ref
Benin					0.77 (0.66-0.89)	0.81 (0.69-0.96)
Cote d’Ivorie					1.03 (0.86-1.22)	1.07 (0.89-1.29)
Gambia					0.44 (0.36-0.55)	0.39 (0.30-0.49)
Mali					0.82 (0.70-0.55)	0.77 (0.64-0.92)
Nigeria					1.16 (1.03-1.30)	1.14 (0.99-1.32)
Sierra Leone					1.13 (0.97-1.31)	1.30 (1.10-1.55)
Togo					0.70 (0.58-0.85)	0.78 (0.61-1.00)
Random effect result
PSU variance (95% CI)	0.07 (0.04-0.13)	0.07 (0.04-0.13)	0.06 (0.03-0.12)	0.06 (0.03-0.12)	0.05 (0.02-1.00)	0.04 (0.02-0.10)
ICC	0.0211678	0.0207558	0.0180652	0.0185152	0.0139181	0.0132386
LR test	15.92 ()	15.37 ()	12.03 ()	12.46 ()	7.51 ()	6.74 ()
Wald chi-square		131.30	233.56	282.90	209.09	721.41
Model fitness
Log-likelihood	-10031.127	-99714453	-9909.8115	-9893.1726	-9915.005	-9661.2923
AIC	20066.25	19948.89	19863.62	19812.35	19858.01	19414.58
N	52877	52877	52877	52877	52877	52877

, , .