title: Relative or absolute standards for child poverty: a state-level analysis of infant and child mortality.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the present study was to compare the associations of state-referenced and federal poverty measures with states' infant and child mortality rates.
  
  
  METHODS
  Compressed mortality and Current Population Survey data were used to examine relationships between mortality and (1) state-referenced poverty (percentage of children below half the state median income) and (2) percentage of children below the federal poverty line.
  
  
  RESULTS
  State-referenced poverty was not associated with mortality among infants or children, whereas poverty as defined by national standards was strongly related to mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Infant and child mortality is more closely tied to families' capacity for meeting basic needs than to relative position within a state's economic hierarchy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. mmh18@psu.edu
authors.forename: Marianne M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Hillemeier
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harper
authors.forename: Trivellore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Raghunathan
authors.forename: George A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Kaplan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D035082:Federal Government; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011203:Poverty / Q000145:classification* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012015:Reference Standards; D012307:Risk Factors; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000145:classification* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*