HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2006.093708v1 AJPH.2006.093708v2 97/7/1255    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (3) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Schempf, A. H. Articles by Schoendorf, K. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Schempf, A. H. Articles by Schoendorf, K. C. Related Collections Birth Outcomes African Americans/Blacks Mortality

Ashley H. Schempf, PhD, Amy M. Branum, MSPH, Susan L. Lukacs, DO, MSPH and Kenneth C. Schoendorf, MD, MPH

Ashley H. Schempf is with the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md. Amy M. Branum, Susan L. Lukacs, and Kenneth L. Schoendorf are with the Infant, Child, and Women’s Health Statistics Branch, Office of Analysis and Epidemiology, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, Md.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Ashley H. Schempf, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205 (e-mail: aschempf{at}jhsph.edu).

Objectives. We evaluated whether the decline of the racial disparity in preterm birth during the last decade was commensurate with a decline in the contribution of preterm birth to the infant mortality gap.

Methods. We used linked files of 1990 and 2000 data on US infant births and deaths to partition the gap between Black and White infant mortality rates into differences in the (1) distribution of gestational age and (2) gestational age–specific mortality rates.

Results. Between 1990 and 2000, the Black–White infant mortality rate ratio did not change significantly (2.3 vs 2.4). Excess deaths among preterm Black infants accounted for nearly 80% of the Black–White infant mortality gap in both 1990 and 2000. The narrowing racial disparity in the preterm birth rate was counterbalanced by greater mortality reductions in White than in Black preterm infants. Extremely preterm birth (<28 weeks) was 4 times higher in Black infants and accounted for more than half of the infant mortality gap.

Conclusions. Substantial reductions in the Black–White infant mortality gap will require improved prevention of extremely preterm birth among Black infants.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. P. Quinn, E. M. August, D. Austin, C. Keefe, C. Bernadotte, K. Scarborough, and D. Jeffers High Risk Community--Men's Perceptions of Black Infant Mortality: A Qualitative Inquiry American Journal of Men's Health, September 1, 2009; 3(3): 224 - 237. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. A. Martin, H.-C. Kung, T.J. Mathews, D. L. Hoyert, D. M. Strobino, B. Guyer, and S. R. Sutton Annual Summary of Vital Statistics: 2006 Pediatrics, April 1, 2008; 121(4): 788 - 801. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. M. Adams and W. D. Barfield The Future of Very Preterm Infants: Learning From the Past JAMA, March 26, 2008; 299(12): 1477 - 1478. [Full Text] [PDF]