State’s infant mortality rate lowest in the nation

Washington State’s infant mortality rate is lowest in the United States, according to a new report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a private charitable organization that focuses on the needs disadvantaged children.

In its annual KIDS COUNT Data book, the Foundation reports that Washington had an infant mortality rate of 4.8 per 1,000 live births. This compares to the national rate of 6.7 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Overall, 29,138 infants in the U.S. died in the first year of life or about 80 a day. The data comes from figures collected in 2007.

Place cursor over map to see individual state’s rates–

The leading causes of death among infants are congenital and chromosomal abnormalities, problems related to preterm births and low birthweight, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the report said.

Washington state’s infant mortality rate was less than half that of bottom-ranked Mississippi, where the rate was 10 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Internationally, the U.S. infant mortality ranking fell from 12th in the world in 1960 to 28th in 2006 putting it behind most European countries, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Israel.

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Infant Mortality Rates by County

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The report found, when considering 10 leading indicators, child well-being in the U.S., after showing improvement in the late 1990s, has stagnated since 2000.

“The overriding picture that these 10 indicators present is one of little change since 2000,” the report said.

See the Washington Kids by the Numbers widget in the side bar for a quick summary of the data.

By other child well-being measures, Washington ranked lower but generally did well and ranked 11th in the nation overall.

Child Death Rate (deaths per 100,000 children ages 1–14)

Washington tied with Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York for 6th place with a rate of 15 per 100,000. This compares with a national rate of 19.

The national rate has been declining in recent years, largely due to a decrease in deaths due to motor vehicle accidents.

State death rates ranged from a low of 9 per 100,000 in Rhode Island to 34 per 100,000 in Mississippi.

Teen Death Rate (deaths per 100,000 among 15-19 year-olds):

Washington ranked 11th in the nation with 51 deaths per 100,000. This compares with the national average of 62. Accidents, primarily automobile accidents, accounted for most teen deaths.

Nationally, in 2007, 6,493 teens died due to accidents. Of these 4,723 were due to motor vehicle accidents.

Homicides and suicides were also leading causes of teen deaths nationwide with homicide accounting for 2,224 and suicide, 1,481.

Teen Birth Rate (births per 1,000 females ages 15-19:

Washington and Virginia were ranked 16th in the nation with 35 births per 1,000. Nationwide more than 445,000 teens had babies in 2007 giving the nation an average rate of 43 births per 1,000 teenage girls age 15-19.

Washington’s poorest showing was in the number of teens (ages 16-19) without a high school diploma or not in school, a category in which the state ranked 25th, a ranking it shared with 10 other states: Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.

In the overall rankings Washington state ranked below 10 states: New Hampshire (1), Minnesota (2), Vermont (3), Utah (4), Massachusetts (5), Iowa (6), New Jersey (7), Connecticut (8), Nebraska (9) and Wisconsin (10).

To learn more:

• Visit the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s website where the full report and searchable interactive data tools are available.

Tags: Annie E. Casey Foundaiton, Child Health, Infant Mortality, Teen Health

Category: Child & Youth Health, Newborn and Infant Health, News