Urban poverty and infant mortality rate disparities.
This study examined whether the relationship between high poverty and infant mortality rates (IMRs) varied across race- and ethnic-specific populations in large urban areas. Data were drawn from 1990 Census and 1992-1994 Vital Statistics for selected U.S. metropolitan areas. High-poverty areas were defined as neighborhoods in which > or = 40% of the families had incomes below the federal poverty threshold. Bivariate models showed that high poverty was a significant predictor of IMR for each group; however, multivariate analyses demonstrate that maternal health and regional factors explained most of the variance in the group-specific models of IMR. Additional analysis revealed that high poverty was significantly associated with minority-white IMR disparities, and country of origin is an important consideration for ethnic birth outcomes. Findings from this study provide a glimpse into the complexity associated with infant mortality in metropolitan areas because they suggest that the factors associated with infant mortality in urban areas vary by race and ethnicity.
Sims
Mario
M
Department of Medicine, The Jackson Heart Study, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39213, USA. msims2@medicine.umsmed.edu
Sims
Tammy L
TL
Bruce
Marino A
MA
D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011203:Poverty / Q000208:ethnology*; D011204:Poverty Areas; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D012935:Social Justice; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D014504:Urban Health; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data