Abstract
To determine whether maternal nativity (US-born versus foreign-born) is associated with the first year mortality rates of term births. Stratified and multivariable binomial regression analyses were performed on the 2003-2004 National Center for Health Statistics linked live birth-infant death cohort files. Only term (37-42 weeks) infants with non-Latina White, African-American, and Mexican-American mothers were studied. The infant mortality rate (<365 days, imr) of births to us-born non-latina white mothers (n="3,684,569)" exceeded that of births to foreign-born white mothers (n="226,621):" 2.4 1,000 versus 1.3 1,000, respectively; relative risk (rr)="1.8" [95 % confidence interval (ci) 1.6-2.0]. the imr of births to us-born african-american mothers (n="787,452)" exceeded that of births to foreign-born african-american mothers (n="118,246):" 4.1 1,000 versus 2.2 1,000, respectively; rr="1.8" (1.6-2.1). the imr of births to us-born mexican-american mothers (n="338,337)" exceeded that of births to mexican-born mothers (n="719,837):" 2.4 1,000 versus 1.8 1,000, respectively; rr="1.3" (1.2-1.4). these disparities were not limited to a singular cause of death and were widest among deaths due to sudden infant death syndrome. in multivariable binomial regression models, the adjusted rr of infant mortality for non-lbw, term births to us-born (compared to foreign-born) for white, african-american, and mexican-american mothers equaled 1.5 (1.3-1.7), 1.7 (1.5-2.1) and 1.6 (1.4-1.8), respectively. the imr of term births to white, african-american, and mexican-american mothers exceeds that of their counterparts with foreign-born mothers independent of traditional individual level risk factors.>
