Relative risk of early and late death in infancy among offspring of non-native-born parents residing in Washington State.
It has been suggested that geographic variation in the early neonatal (0-6 days) and postperinatal (7-364 days) mortality rates for the United States derives from positive and negative associations, respectively, with the probability of an average couple sharing one or more HLA antigens. If this theory is correct, then the ratio of 0-6-day deaths to 7-364-day deaths among the offspring of migrant parents should be similar to that seen in the area from which the mother and the father originally migrated. Information on deaths among the offspring of migrant couples by the mother's region of birth was obtained from computerized vital statistics for Washington state for the period 1968-1977. Information on infant deaths occurring in the mother's region of birth was obtained from published vital statistics for the United States for 1980-1984. Ratios of 0-6-day deaths to 7-364-day deaths in 9 geographic regions for the period 1980-1984 were placed in 4 intervals. These intervals became the standard against which the 0-6/7-364-day ratios in the offspring of migrant parents were compared by means of a test for trend in proportions. As predicted, a significant positive trend was observed when the mother and the father were born in the same region but not when they were born in different regions.
Spiers
P S
PS
Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D010290:Parents; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors; D014861:Washington / Q000453:epidemiology
D006680:HLA Antigens