This objective of this paper was to verify the relations between the living and infrastructure conditions of municipalities in the State of Paraná, Brazil, and infant mortality rate and its components. An ecological study was carried out having the 399 municipalities of the State being classified into five clusters of living conditions. Infant, neonatal and postneonatal rates were calculated for the period 1997/2001. The mean infant, neonatal and postneonatal mortality rates in the State were, respectively, 19.3, 12.0 and 7.3 per 1,000 live births. Postneonatal mortality rates ranged from 8.7 (cluster of worst living conditions) to 6.3 per 1,000 live births (in the cluster classified as having the best living conditions). Regarding the neonatal component, clusters classified as holding the best and the worst living conditions presented the lowest values: 11.8 and 11.4 per 1,000 live births, respectively. We conclude that the postneonatal component still adequately discriminate living conditions in the State of Paraná. However, there is a need of complementary studies that aim to clarify the causes of similar neonatal mortality rates observed in the richest and in the poorest cluster of municipalities.
Infant Mortality; Postneonatal Mortality; Living Conditions
