Skip to main content
PMC home page
American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 1997 Mar;87(3):414–417. doi: 10.2105/ajph.87.3.414

Very-low-birthweight infants and income incongruity among African American and white parents in Chicago.

J W Collins Jr 1, A A Herman 1, R J David 1
PMCID: PMC1381014  PMID: 9096543

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Illinois vital records for 1982/1983 and US census income data for 1980 were analyzed to ascertain the relationship of income incongruity, race, and very low birthweight. METHODS: Positive income incongruity was considered present when study infants resided in wealthier neighborhoods than non-Latino Whites at the same level of parental education attainment and marital status. RESULTS: The odds ratios of very low birthweight for African Americans (n = 44,266) and Whites (n = 27,139) who experienced positive income incongruity were 0.7 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.5, 0.9) and 0.6 (95% CI = 0.5, 0.9), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Positive income incongruity is associated with lower race-specific rates of very low birthweight.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

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

  1. Brett K. M., Schoendorf K. C., Kiely J. L. Differences between black and white women in the use of prenatal care technologies. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1994 Jan;170(1 Pt 1):41–46. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Collins J. W., Jr, David R. J. Differences in neonatal mortality by race, income, and prenatal care. Ethn Dis. 1992 Winter;2(1):18–26. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. David R. J., Collins J. W., Jr Bad outcomes in black babies: race or racism? Ethn Dis. 1991 Summer;1(3):236–244. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Kleinman J. C., Kessel S. S. Racial differences in low birth weight. Trends and risk factors. N Engl J Med. 1987 Sep 17;317(12):749–753. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198709173171207. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kogan M. D., Kotelchuck M., Alexander G. R., Johnson W. E. Racial disparities in reported prenatal care advice from health care providers. Am J Public Health. 1994 Jan;84(1):82–88. doi: 10.2105/ajph.84.1.82. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Krieger N. Racial and gender discrimination: risk factors for high blood pressure? Soc Sci Med. 1990;30(12):1273–1281. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(90)90307-e. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Krieger N., Rowley D. L., Herman A. A., Avery B., Phillips M. T. Racism, sexism, and social class: implications for studies of health, disease, and well-being. Am J Prev Med. 1993 Nov-Dec;9(6 Suppl):82–122. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. McGrady G. A., Sung J. F., Rowley D. L., Hogue C. J. Preterm delivery and low birth weight among first-born infants of black and white college graduates. Am J Epidemiol. 1992 Aug 1;136(3):266–276. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a116492. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. McLean D. E., Hatfield-Timajchy K., Wingo P. A., Floyd R. L. Psychosocial measurement: implications for the study of preterm delivery in black women. Am J Prev Med. 1993 Nov-Dec;9(6 Suppl):39–81. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Murray J. L., Bernfield M. The differential effect of prenatal care on the incidence of low birth weight among blacks and whites in a prepaid health care plan. N Engl J Med. 1988 Nov 24;319(21):1385–1391. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198811243192105. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Polednak A. P. Black-white differences in infant mortality in 38 standard metropolitan statistical areas. Am J Public Health. 1991 Nov;81(11):1480–1482. doi: 10.2105/ajph.81.11.1480. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Rawlings J. S., Rawlings V. B., Read J. A. Prevalence of low birth weight and preterm delivery in relation to the interval between pregnancies among white and black women. N Engl J Med. 1995 Jan 12;332(2):69–74. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199501123320201. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Schoendorf K. C., Hogue C. J., Kleinman J. C., Rowley D. Mortality among infants of black as compared with white college-educated parents. N Engl J Med. 1992 Jun 4;326(23):1522–1526. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199206043262303. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Schwartz S. The fallacy of the ecological fallacy: the potential misuse of a concept and the consequences. Am J Public Health. 1994 May;84(5):819–824. doi: 10.2105/ajph.84.5.819. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Susser M. The logic in ecological: I. The logic of analysis. Am J Public Health. 1994 May;84(5):825–829. doi: 10.2105/ajph.84.5.825. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES