HEALTH2 Infant mortality: Death rates among infants by detailed race and Hispanic origin of mother, 1983–1991 and 1995

HEALTH2 Infant mortality: Death rates among infants by detailed race and Hispanic origin of mother, 1983–1991 and 1995–2009

Characteristic	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1995^a	1996^a	1997^a	1998^a	1999^a	2000^a	2001^a	2002^a	2003^a,b	2004^a,b	2005^a,b	2006^a,b	2007^b,c	2008^b,d	2009^b,d
(Infant deaths per 1,000 live births)
Total	10.9	10.4	10.4	10.1	9.8	9.6	9.5	8.9	8.6	7.6	7.3	7.2	7.2	7.0	6.9	6.8	7.0	6.8	6.8	6.9	6.7	6.8	6.6	6.4
Race and Hispanic origin^d
White, non-Hispanic	9.2	8.6	8.6	8.3	8.1	7.8	7.8	7.2	7.0	6.3	6.0	6.0	6.0	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.6	—	—	—
Black, non-Hispanic	19.1	18.1	18.3	18.0	17.5	18.0	18.0	16.9	16.6	14.7	14.2	13.7	13.9	14.1	13.6	13.5	13.9	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.4	—	—	—
American Indian or Alaska Native	15.2	13.4	13.1	13.9	13.0	12.7	13.4	13.1	11.3	9.0	10.0	8.7	9.3	9.3	8.3	9.7	8.6	8.7	8.4	8.1	8.3	—	—	—
Asian or Pacific Islander	8.3	8.9	7.8	7.8	7.3	6.8	7.4	6.6	5.8	5.3	5.2	5.0	5.5	4.8	4.9	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.7	4.9	4.6	—	—	—
Chinese	9.5	7.2	5.8	5.9	6.2	5.5	6.4	4.3	4.6	3.8	3.2	3.1	4.0	2.9	3.5	3.2	3.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Japanese	*	6.4	6.0	7.2	6.6	7.0	6.0	5.5	4.2	5.3	4.2	5.3	3.5	3.4	4.6	4.0	4.9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Filipino	8.4	8.5	7.7	7.2	6.6	6.9	8.0	6.0	5.1	5.6	5.8	5.8	6.2	5.8	5.7	5.5	5.7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Hawaiian	11.2	12.9	9.9	11.9	12.2	9.2	11.4	8.0	7.6	6.6	5.6	9.0	10.0	7.1	9.1	7.3	9.6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Other Asian or Pacific Islander	8.1	9.4	8.5	8.3	7.6	7.0	7.3	7.4	6.3	5.5	5.7	5.0	5.7	5.1	4.8	4.8	4.7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Hispanic^f	9.5	9.3	8.8	8.4	8.2	8.3	8.1	7.5	7.1	6.3	6.1	6.0	5.8	5.7	5.6	5.4	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.6	5.4	—	—	—
Mexican American	9.1	8.9	8.5	7.9	8.0	7.8	7.7	7.2	6.9	6.0	5.8	5.8	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.2	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.3	—	—	—
Puerto Rican	12.9	12.9	11.2	11.8	9.9	11.6	11.7	9.9	9.7	8.9	8.6	7.9	7.8	8.3	8.2	8.5	8.2	8.2	7.8	8.3	8.0	—	—	—
Cuban	7.5	8.1	8.5	7.6	7.1	7.3	6.2	7.2	5.2	5.3	5.1	5.5	3.6	4.7	4.5	4.2	3.7	4.6	4.6	4.4	5.1	—	—	—
Central or South American	8.5	8.3	8.0	7.7	7.7	7.2	7.4	6.8	5.9	5.5	5.0	5.5	5.3	4.7	4.6	5.0	5.1	5.0	4.6	4.7	4.5	—	—	—
Other and unknown Hispanic	10.6	9.5	9.5	9.2	8.7	9.1	8.4	8.0	8.2	7.4	7.7	6.2	6.5	7.2	6.9	6.0	7.1	6.7	6.7	6.4	5.8	—	—	—
— Not available.
* Number too small to calculate a reliable rate.
^a Beginning with data for 1995, rates are on a period basis. Earlier rates are on a cohort basis. Data for 1995–2006 are weighted to account for unmatched records.
^b Beginning in 2003, infant mortality rates are being reported to two decimal places in National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reports, so the rates reported here will vary from those in other reports. This difference in reporting could affect significance testing.
^c The mortality rate for 2007 was obtained from unlinked death records from the Natoinal Vitial Statistics System because data for 2007 are not currently available from the National Linked Files of Live Births and Infant Deaths.
^d The mortality rate for 2008 and 2009 was obtained from preliminary unlinked death records from the Natoinal Vitial Statistics System because final data for 2008 and 2009 are not currently available from the National Linked Files of Live Births and Infant Deaths.
^e The 1977 OMB Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity were used to classify persons into one of the following four racial groups: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. CA, HI, OH (for December only), PA, UT, and WA reported multiple-race data in 2003, following the revised 1997 OMB standards. In 2004, the following states began to report multiple-race data: FL, ID, KY, MI, MN, NH, NY State (excluding New York City), SC, and TN. The multiple-race data for these states were bridged to the single-race categories of the 1977 OMB standards for comparability with other states. In addition, note that data on race and Hispanic origin are collected and reported separately. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
^f Trends for the Hispanic population are affected by an expansion in the number of registration areas that included an item on Hispanic origin on the birth certificate. The number of states in the reporting area increased from 22 states in 1980 to 23 states and the District of Columbia (DC) in 1983–1987, 30 states and DC in 1988, 47 states and DC in 1989, 48 states and DC in 1990, 49 states and DC in 1991, and all 50 states and DC from 1993 onward.
NOTE: Infant deaths are deaths before an infant’s first birthday. Rates for race groups from the National Linked Files of Live Births and Infant Deaths vary slightly from those obtained via unlinked infant death records using the National Vital Statistics System. because the race reported on the death certificate sometimes does not match the race on the infant’s birth certificate. Rates obtained from linked data (where race is obtained from the birth, rather than the death, certificate) are considered more reliable, but linked data are not available before 1983 and are also not available for 1992–1994.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.