Document Type

Preprint

Publication Date

7-15-2019

Journal / Book Title

Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

Abstract

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

While ecological studies indicate that high levels of structural racism within US states are associated with elevated infant mortality rates, studies using individual-level data are needed. To determine whether indicators of structural racism are associated with the individual odds for infant mortality among white and black infants in the US.

METHODS:

We used data on 2,163,096 white and 590,081 black infants from the 2010 US Cohort Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Files. Structural racism indicators were ratios of relative proportions of blacks to whites for these domains: electoral (registered to vote and voted; state legislature representation), employment (civilian labor force; employed; in management; with a bachelor's degree), and justice system (sentenced to death; incarcerated). Multilevel logistic regression was used to determine whether structural racism indicators were risk factors of infant mortality.

RESULTS:

Compared to the lowest tertile ratio of relative proportions of blacks to whites with a bachelor's degree or higher-indicative of low structural racism-black infants, but not whites, in states with moderate (OR = 1.12, 95% CI = 0.94, 1.32) and high tertiles (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.03, 1.51) had higher odds of infant mortality.

CONCLUSIONS:

Educational and judicial indicators of structural racism were associated with infant mortality among blacks. Decreasing structural racism could prevent black infant deaths.

DOI

10.1007/s40615-019-00612-w

Published Citation

Published in final edited form as: J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2019 December ; 6(6): 1095–1106. doi:10.1007/s40615-019-00612-w.

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