'No simple explanation' for child mortality gap

"Britain's wealth gap means 2,000 more children die every year than in Sweden".

So said a headline in the Independent today.

But the researchers behind the claim didn't attribute all the deaths to wealth inequality.

Their report found that if child mortality rates in the UK were the same as in Sweden, there would be 2,000 fewer deaths per year. But it also said:

"There are no simple explanations for why more children die (per capita) in the UK than in some other European countries."

Beyond wealth inequality possible factors behind the gap in mortality included differences in healthcare, in the proportion of pregnant women who smoke, and in the number of traffic accidents involving children.