Land tenure patterns and child health in southern Brazil: the relationship between agricultural production, malnutrition and child mortality.

The relationships between infant mortality, malnutrition, and land tenure patterns in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, were investigated with data from demographic and agricultural censuses, vital statistics, and dietary surveys, complemented by a large nutritional survey in urban and rural areas. These studies employed a variety of analytical methods and revealed that young children in areas with large ranches, livestock-raising, and a high proportion of agricultural wage-earners presented a higher mortality and had a poorer nutritional status than children in areas with small properties, crop agriculture, and self-employed family workers. Children of landowners showed least malnutrition and the smaller risk of death compared to children of laborers, although the differential seems to have narrowed in recent years. The main conclusion is that land tenure patterns play a very important role in determining early mortality and malnutrition in this Brazilian state.