title: The changing character of the Black-White infant mortality gap, 1983-2004.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined how changes in demographic, geographic, and childbearing risk factors were related to changes in the Black-White infant mortality rate (IMR) gap over 2 decades.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using 1983-2004 Vital Statistics, we applied inverse probability weighting methods to examine the relationship between risk factors and 3 outcomes: the overall IMR gap, its birth weight component, and its conditional (on birth weight) IMR component.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The unexplained IMR gap (the part not related to observed risk factors) was stable, changing from 5.0 to 5.3 deaths per 1000 live births. By contrast, the explained gap declined from 4.6 to 1.9. The decline in the explained gap was driven by the changing relationship between risk factors and IMR. Further analysis revealed that most of the unexplained gap occurred among infants weighing less than 1000 grams at birth, whereas most of the explained gap occurred among infants weighing more than 1000 grams.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The unexplained gap was stable over the last 2 decades, but the explained gap declined markedly. If the stability of the unexplained gap continues, even complete convergence of risk factors would reduce the Black-White IMR gap by only one quarter.
authors.affiliation: Todd E. Elder, John H. Goddeeris, and Steven J. Haider are with the Department of Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing. Nigel Paneth is with the Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University.
authors.forename: Todd E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Elder
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Goddeeris
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Haider
authors.forename: Nigel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Paneth
mesh_terms: D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000639:trends; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001741:Black or African American