The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #45523

Leland Neuberg, PhD and Victor Rodwin, PhD. International Longevity Center-USA, 35 Vernon St., Aapt. 204, Brookline, MA 02446

Two recent studies have shown that declines in New York City’s infant mortality between1989–1992 were due largely to reduced birthweight-specific mortality rates rather to increased birthweights. Although these studies noted these improvements across race, they did not examine the declines in infant mortality rates by neighborhood. In this paper we compare citywide infant mortality rates across Manhattan, inner London, Paris and inner Tokyo for the decade between 1988–1997. We begin with our rationale for selecting these cities and neighborhoods within them. We then examine the distribution of infant mortality rates across these neighborhoods to explain differences in the citywide rates. Next, to explain citywide rate changes over the course of the decade, we examine changes in the neighborhood rate distributions between two five-year periods —1988–1992 and 1993–1997. Finally, we demonstrate that, in comparison to other world cities, the distribution of neighborhood infant mortality rates, in Manhattan, is heavily skewed toward rates above the median. This results in neighborhoods with high infant mortality rates dragging up the mean neighborhood rate and citywide rate far above those in Paris and Tokyo. We conclude by speculating that patterns of infant mortality in other world cities indicate that more publicly oriented systems may have some lessons for urban public health in the United States.

Learning Objectives:

• 1)Develop an international urban perspective on infant mortality; 2)Understand how inequalities among neighborhood infant mortality rates affect the citywide median rate; and 3)Learn how looking abroad can shed light on what is possible at home.

Keywords: Infant Mortality, Urban Health

Related Web page: ilcusa.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.