Racial Differences in Infant Mortality Rates: United States, 1969

Using multiple regression analyses, this work measured the effects of demographic, health, and socioeconomic variables on race-specific neonatal and postneonatal infant mortality rates and found higher black than white infant mortality is the result of unfavorable black means on birthweight.

Abstract

Using multiple regression analyses, we measured the effects of demographic, health, and socioeconomic variables on race-specific neonatal and postneonatal infant mortality rates. The racial difference in rates in 1969 is due to (1) effects of mean differences in black and white population characteristics, (2) differences in the impact of independent variables, and (3) differences from other causes. Higher black than white infant mortality is the result of unfavorable black means on birthweight, age of mothers at birth, education, and marital stability. Black mortality is also higher because mothers' age at birth, marital stability, and education have more favorable impact on mortality for whites than blacks.