title: Urban poverty and infant mortality rate disparities.
abstract: 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.
authors: Department of Medicine, The Jackson Heart Study, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39213, USA. msims2@medicine.umsmed.edu
authors: Mario
authors: M
authors: Sims
authors: Tammy L
authors: TL
authors: Sims
authors: Marino A
authors: MA
authors: Bruce
mesh_terms: 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