Infant Mortality Statistics Show
Variation by Race, Ethnicity, and State
NVSR
Vol. 48, No. 12. Infant Mortality
Statistics from the 1998 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. 28 pp.
(PHS) 2000-1120. View/download PDF 195 KB
Contact: NCHS/CDC Public
Affairs
(301) 458-4800
E-mail: nchsquery@cdc.gov
A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics,
Centers for Disease Control Prevention, presents detailed data on infant mortality rates by
race and ethnicity, leading causes of death, infant characteristics such as birthweight,
and maternal factors such as receipt of prenatal care. These data are shown for the
Nation and 3-year average infant mortality rates for each State. Highlights of the
findings released today show:
Over 28,000 infants died in the
first year of life in 1998, for an overall infant mortality rate of 7.2 infant deaths per
1,000 births, unchanged from the rate in 1997. Infants born to black mothers had the
highest rate of infant mortality of 13.8 per 1,000 live births while those born to
Japanese and Cuban mothers had the lowest (3.5 and 3.6, respectively). Other groups
reported rates between these: Chinese (4.0), Mexican (5.6), non-Hispanic white (6.0),
Filipino (6.2), Puerto Rican (7.8), American Indian (9.3), and Hawaiian (10.0).
The leading causes of
infant death in 1998 were Congenital anomalies, Disorders related to low birthweight and
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), which taken together accounted for nearly one-half of all infant deaths in the
United States. Maternal complications and respiratory distress syndrome rounded out the
top five causes of infant death. Congenital anomalies were the leading cause of death for
all race and ethnic groups, except for infants of black mothers whose leading cause was
disorders related to low birthweight.
Infant mortality rates for
the years 1996-98 combined varied widely by State. Rates varied from 10.5 for
Mississippi to 4.5 for New Hampshire. Among the groups with the highest rates, infants of
black mothers had rates from 17.1 in Illinois and Nebraska to 10.1 in Massachusetts.
For American Indians, rates ranged from 15.3 in Minnesota to 7.2 in New Mexico.
(Many States did not have enough infants deaths for these groups to report a rate).
The report, "Infant
Mortality Statistics from the 1998 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set" by T.
J. Mathews, Sally C. Curtin, and Marian F. MacDorman, is based on information from the
death certificate linked to the corresponding birth certificate for each infant under 1
year of age who died in 1998. The purpose of the linkage is to conduct more detailed
analyses of infant mortality patterns and provide better information for prevention,
research, and medical care. The data are based on birth and death records filed and linked
by State vital statistics offices and reported to NCHS through the National Vital
Statistics System.