• Government
• Profession
• Business
• Opinion
• Health

• Health reform
• H1N1
• P4P
• EMRs
• Medicare
• Liability
• AMA House
• » More

• Book Excerpt
• Business Pitch
• Meetings
• » More

• Contract Language
• Ethics Forum
• In the Courts
• Practice Management
• Technically Speaking
• » More

• Issue dates
• Regions
• Health plans
• Sections
• News briefs
• Columns
• Editorials
• Letters
• Writers
• Other years

• Search tips
• E-mail alert
• Radio
• RSS
• Mobile
• Subscribe
• Institutions
• Staff directory
• Advertising
• Permissions
• Reprints
• News media
• Site guide
• Useful links
• About
• Premium
• Contact

State health rankings find rise in infant mortality

The annual state of the states report notes a disturbing trend and finds that the United States may be stalled in its journey to better health.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, amednews staff. Dec. 6, 2004.

• PRINT|
• E-MAIL|
• RESPOND|
• REPRINTS|
• SHARE

Deaths among children younger than 1 year old increased for the first time in more than 40 years, according to a report, "America's Health: State Health Rankings," published in November. The rate increased from 6.8 per 1,000 in 2001 to 7 per 1,000 in 2002 -- a far cry from the Healthy People 2010 goal of 4.5 per 1,000.

"It's only a little blip, but it's very concerning," said John Kattwinkel, MD, professor of pediatrics at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.

The state health rankings report has been published annually for the past 15 years by the United Health Foundation in conjunction with the American Public Health Assn. and the Partnership for Prevention, using data collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health agencies.

Experts acknowledged the possibility that the infant mortality uptick could be a fluke, but most believe that it could be the beginning of a true increase, because other related indicators have been headed in the wrong direction for several years, particularly prematurity and low-birth-weight rates.

"It's very consistent with the way the data have been trending," said Marie McCormick, MD, ScD, professor of maternal and child health at Harvard University School of Public Health in Boston. "Those numbers have to catch up with you at some point."

A commentary in the report attributed the increases to the growing number of multiple births caused by improvements in assisted reproductive technology. Improvements in neonatal intensive care lead many more sick newborns to survive initially. This advance, however, has not necessarily translated to survival through the first year of life.