A methodological note on the relationship between infant mortality and socioeconomic status with evidence from San Antonio, Texas

It was found that of the 3 variables used to measure SES, income bore the strongest relationship to infant mortality, and that social area analysis of infant mortality is limited by the extreme reductions of sample size when additional variables are induced.

Abstract

A number of previous studies have concluded from social area analyses of medium-size cities that there is no longer a significant correlation between socioeconomic status (SES) and infant mortality in the U.S. To determine if these findings were an artifact of too small samples, the total, neonatal, and postneonatal infant mortality rates were analyzed for 115 census tracts of San Antonio, Texas. The SES of each tract was measured by a score reflecting equally the variables of income, education, and occupation, and allowed assignment of the tracts to 1 of 4 socioeconomic rankings. All 3 infant mortality rates rose as SES decreased, with the most marked relationship being between SES and postneonatal rates. It was also found that of the 3 variables used to measure SES, income bore the strongest relationship to infant mortality. In general it should be noted that social area analysis of infant mortality is limited by the extreme reductions of sample size when additional variables are induced.