Skip to main content
American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 1988 May;78(5):499–503. doi: 10.2105/ajph.78.5.499

Birthweight-specific infant mortality for native Americans compared with whites, six states, 1980.

M J Vanlandingham 1, J W Buehler 1, C J Hogue 1, L T Strauss 1
PMCID: PMC1349326  PMID: 3354730

Abstract

We used data from the National Infant Mortality Surveillance (NIMS) project to compare birthweights and birthweight-specific mortality risks among Native American and White infants. Because race categories in NIMS were limited to White, Black, and all, we studied six states in which greater than 85 per cent of newborns who were neither White nor Black were Native American. In these states, the infant mortality risk (IMR) among Native Americans was 15.3 deaths per 1,000 live births compared with 8.7 deaths among Whites, relative risk (RR) = 1.8 (95% CI = 1.5-2.0). The percentage of Native American infants with less than 2,500 g birthweights was 5.8 per cent versus 5.0 per cent for White infants. Birthweight-specific neonatal mortality risks were similar for the two race groups, but birthweight-specific postneonatal mortality risks (PNMRs) were more than three times as high among Native Americans compared with Whites for infants of greater than or equal to 2,500 g birthweight. PNMRs were elevated for most causes of death and for all categories for maternal age, educational attainment, trimester prenatal care began, and number of previous live births. Leading causes of postneonatal death among Native Americans of greater than or equal to 2,500 g birthweight were sudden infant death syndrome and infections.

Full text

PDF
499

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adams M. M. The descriptive epidemiology of sudden infant deaths among natives and whites in Alaska. Am J Epidemiol. 1985 Oct;122(4):637–643. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114143. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Brenner C., Reisinger K. S., Rogers K. D. Navajo infant mortality, 1970. Public Health Rep. 1974 Jul-Aug;89(4):353–359. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Duke J. C., Lorenz D., DePersio S. R. Infant mortality in Oklahoma: risk factors associated with neonatal and postneonatal mortality, 1975-1982. J Okla State Med Assoc. 1986 Jun;79(6):389–397. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Fleshman J. K., Peterson D. R. The sudden infant death syndrome among Alaskan natives. Am J Epidemiol. 1977 Jun;105(6):555–558. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112419. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hogue C. J., Buehler J. W., Strauss L. T., Smith J. C. Overview of the National Infant Mortality Surveillance (NIMS) project--design, methods, results. Public Health Rep. 1987 Mar-Apr;102(2):126–138. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hogue C. J., Buehler J. W., Strauss L. T., Smith J. C. Overview of the National Infant Mortality Surveillance (NIMS) project--design, methods, results. Public Health Rep. 1987 Mar-Apr;102(2):126–138. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kaplan D. W., Bauman A. E., Krous H. F. Epidemiology of sudden infant death syndrome in American Indians. Pediatrics. 1984 Dec;74(6):1041–1046. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Lambert D. A., Strauss L. T. Analysis of unlinked infant death certificates from the NIMS project. Public Health Rep. 1987 Mar-Apr;102(2):200–204. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Pharoah P. O., Morris J. N. Postneonatal Mortality. Epidemiol Rev. 1979;1:170–183. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.epirev.a036209. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Rhoades E. R., D'Angelo A. J., Hurlburt W. B. The Indian Health Service record of achievement. Public Health Rep. 1987 Jul-Aug;102(4):356–360. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Rhoades E. R., Hammond J., Welty T. K., Handler A. O., Amler R. W. The Indian burden of illness and future health interventions. Public Health Rep. 1987 Jul-Aug;102(4):361–368. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Rogers R. G. Infant mortality among New Mexican Hispanics, Anglos, and Indians. Soc Sci Q. 1984;65(3):876–884. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Public Health are provided here courtesy of American Public Health Association

RESOURCES