A comparative analysis of infant mortality in major Ohio cities: significance of socio-biological factors

Abstract

"Using linked birth and infant death records for Ohio for the 1984-87 birth cohorts, this paper examines differentials in neonatal, postneonatal, and infant mortality rates in four major Ohio cities....It was found that, compared to Toledo, Cleveland had 51% higher risk of infant death, Cincinnati had 45% higher risk, [and] Columbus had 13% higher risk of infant death. Although in each of these cities, black infants had significantly higher risk of death than white infants, controlling for race alone reduced but did not eliminate the infant mortality differentials among the cities. The results of the hazards analyses reveal that maternal education, marital status, maternal age, birth order, prenatal care, gestational age, and birth weight had a profound net impact on the risk of infant death and that, even after controlling for these and other maternal and infant characteristics, significant city differentials persisted in infant mortality."