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HEALTH2 Infant mortality: Death rates among infants by detailed race and Hispanic origin of mother, selected years 1983–2005

excel icon HEALTH2 Excel Table

(Infant deaths per 1,000 live births)
Characteristic 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1995a 1996a 1997a 1998a 1999a 2000a 2001a 2002a 2003a,b 2004a,b 2005b,c
Total 10.9 10.4 10.4 10.1 9.8 9.6 9.5 8.9 8.6 7.6 7.3 7.2 7.2 7.0 6.9 6.8 7.0 6.8 6.8 6.9
Race and Hispanic originc
White, non-Hispanic 9.2 8.6 8.6 8.3 8.1 7.8 7.8 7.2 7.0 6.3 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.7 5.7
Black, non-Hispanic 19.1 18.1 18.3 18.0 17.5 18.0 18.0 16.9 16.6 14.7 14.2 13.7 13.9 14.1 13.6 13.5 13.9 13.6 13.6
American Indian or Alaska Native 15.2 13.4 13.1 13.9 13.0 12.7 13.4 13.1 11.3 9.0 10.0 8.7 9.3 9.3 8.3 9.7 8.6 8.7 8.4
Asian or Pacific Islander 8.3 8.9 7.8 7.8 7.3 6.8 7.4 6.6 5.8 5.3 5.2 5.0 5.5 4.8 4.9 4.7 4.8 4.8 4.7
Chinese 9.5 7.2 5.8 5.9 6.2 5.5 6.4 4.3 4.6 3.8 3.2 3.1 4.0 2.9 3.5 3.2 3.0
Japanese * 6.4 6.0 7.2 6.6 7.0 6.0 5.5 4.2 5.3 4.2 5.3 3.5 3.4 4.6 4.0 4.9
Filipino 8.4 8.5 7.7 7.2 6.6 6.9 8.0 6.0 5.1 5.6 5.8 5.8 6.2 5.8 5.7 5.5 5.7
Hawaiian 11.2 12.9 9.9 11.9 12.2 9.2 11.4 8.0 7.6 6.6 5.6 9.0 10.0 7.1 9.1 7.3 9.6
Other Asian or Pacific Islander 8.1 9.4 8.5 8.3 7.6 7.0 7.3 7.4 6.3 5.5 5.7 5.0 5.7 5.1 4.8 4.8 4.7
Hispanicd 9.5 9.3 8.8 8.4 8.2 8.3 8.1 7.5 7.1 6.3 6.1 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.6 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.5
Mexican American 9.1 8.9 8.5 7.9 8.0 7.8 7.7 7.2 6.9 6.0 5.8 5.8 5.6 5.5 5.4 5.2 5.4 5.5 5.5
Puerto Rican 12.9 12.9 11.2 11.8 9.9 11.6 11.7 9.9 9.7 8.9 8.6 7.9 7.8 8.3 8.2 8.5 8.2 8.2 7.8
Cuban 7.5 8.1 8.5 7.6 7.1 7.3 6.2 7.2 5.2 5.3 5.1 5.5 3.6 4.7 4.5 4.2 3.7 4.6 4.6
Central or South American 8.5 8.3 8.0 7.7 7.7 7.2 7.4 6.8 5.9 5.5 5.0 5.5 5.3 4.7 4.6 5.0 5.1 5.0 4.6
Other and unknown Hispanic 10.6 9.5 9.5 9.2 8.7 9.1 8.4 8.0 8.2 7.4 7.7 6.2 6.5 7.2 6.9 6.0 7.1 6.7 6.7
— Not available.
* Number too small to calculate a reliable rate.
a Beginning with data for 1995, rates are on a period basis. Earlier rates are on a cohort basis. Data for 1995–2004 are weighted to account for unmatched records.
b Beginning in 2003, infant mortality rates are being reported to two decimal places in National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reports, so the rates reported here will vary from those in other reports. This difference in reporting could effect significance testing.
c The 1977 OMB Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity were used to classify persons into one of the following four racial groups: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. California, Hawaii, Ohio (for December only), Pennsylvania, Utah, and Washington reported multiple race data in 2003, following the revised 1997 OMB standards. In 2004, the following states began to report multiple race data: Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York state, (excluding New York City), South Carolina, and Tennessee. The multiple-race data for these states were bridged to the single-race categories of the 1977 OMB standards for comparability with other states. In addition, note that data on race and Hispanic origin are collected and reported separately. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
d Trend data for Hispanic women are affected by expansion of the reporting area in which an item on Hispanic origin is included on the birth certificate, as well as by immigration. These two factors affect numbers of events, composition of the Hispanic population, and maternal and infant health characteristics. The number of States in the reporting area increased from 22 in 1980 to 23 and the District of Columbia (DC) in 1983–1987, 30 and DC in 1988, 47 and DC in 1989, 48 and DC in 1990, 49 and DC in 1991, and all 50 States and DC from 1993 forward.
NOTE: Rates for race groups from the National Linked Files of Live Births and Infant Deaths vary slightly from those obtained via unlinked infant death records using the National Vital Statistics System because the race reported on the death certificate sometimes does not match the race on the infant’s birth certificate. Rates obtained from linked data (where race is obtained from the birth, rather than the death certificate) are considered more reliable, but linked data are not available before 1983 and are also not available for 1992–1994 nor 2005.
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Linked Files of Live Births and Infant Deaths.