scholarly journals Trends and Social Inequalities in Maternal Mortality in the United States, 1969-2018

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-42
Author(s):  
Gopal K. Singh

Background: Despite the previous long-term decline and a recent increase in maternal mortality, detailed social inequalities in maternal mortality in the United States (US) have not been analyzed. This study examines trends and inequalities in US maternal mortality by maternal race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, nativity/immigrant status, marital status, area deprivation, urbanization level, and cause of death. Methods: National vital statistics data from 1969 to 2018 were used to compute maternal mortality rates by sociodemographic factors. Mortality trends by deprivation level were analyzed by using censusbased deprivation indices. Rate ratios and log-linear regression were used to model mortality trends and differentials. Results: Maternal mortality declined by 68% between 1969 and 1998. However, there was a recent upturn in maternal mortality, with the rate increasing from 9.9 deaths/100,000 live births in 1999 to 17.4 in 2018. The large racial disparity persisted over time; Black women in 2018 had a 2.4 times higher risk of maternal mortality than White women. During 2013-2017, the rate varied from 7.0 for Chinese women to 42.0 for non-Hispanic Black women. Unmarried status, US-born status, lower education, and rural residence were associated with 50-114% higher maternal mortality risks. Mothers in the most-deprived areas had a 120% higher risk of mortality than those in the most-affluent areas; both absolute and relative disparities in mortality by deprivation level widened between 2002 and 2018. Hemorrhage, pregnancy-related hypertension, embolism, infection, and chronic conditions were the leading causes of maternal death, with 31% of the deaths attributable to indirect obstetric causes. Conclusions and Global Health Implications: Despite the steep long-term decline in US maternal mortality, substantial racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and rural-urban disparities remain. Monitoring disparities according to underlying social determinants is key to reducing maternal mortality as they give rise to inequalities in social conditions and health-risk factors that lead to maternal morbidity and mortality. Key words: Maternal mortality • Socioeconomic status • Deprivation • Race/ethnicity • Rural-urban • Disparities • Cause of death • Trend. Copyright © 2021 Singh. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in this journal, is properly cited.

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 296
Author(s):  
Landon Schnabel

Much research considers group differences in religious belonging, behaving, and/or believing by gender, race, ethnicity, class, or sexuality. This study, however, considers all these factors at once, providing the first comprehensive snapshot of religious belonging, behaving, and believing across and within these axes of inequality in the United States. Leveraging unique data with an exceptionally large sample, I explore religion across 40 unique configurations of intersecting identities (e.g., one is non-Latina Black heterosexual college-educated women). Across all measures considered, Black women are at the top—however, depending on the measure, there are different subsets of Black women at the top. And whereas most sexual minorities are among the least religious Americans, Black sexual minorities—and especially those with a college degree—exhibit high levels of religious belonging, behaving, and believing. In fact, Black sexual minority women with a college degree meditate more frequently than any other group considered. Overall, whereas we see clear divides in how religious people are by factors like gender, education, and sexual orientation among most racial groups, race appears to overpower other factors for Black Americans who are consistently religious regardless of their other characteristics. By presenting levels of religious belonging, behaving, and believing across configurations of gender, race, ethnicity, class, and sexuality in the contemporary United States, this study provides a more complex and complete picture of American religion and spirituality.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea H Weinberger ◽  
Cristine D Delnevo ◽  
Jiaqi Zhu ◽  
Misato Gbedemah ◽  
Joun Lee ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Although there are racial/ethnic differences in cigarette use, little is known about how non-cigarette tobacco use differs among racial/ethnic groups. This study investigated trends in cigar use from 2002 to 2016, by racial/ethnic group, in nationally representative US data. Methods Data were drawn from the 2002–2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health public use data files (total analytic sample n = 630 547 including 54 060 past-month cigar users). Linear time trends of past-month cigar use were examined by racial/ethnic group (Non-Hispanic [NH] White, NH Black, Hispanic, NH Other/Mixed Race/Ethnicity) using logistic regression models. Results In 2016, the prevalence of past-month cigar use was significantly higher among NH Black respondents than among other racial/ethnic groups (ps < .001). Cigar use was also higher among NH White respondents than among Hispanic and NH Other/Mixed Race/Ethnicity respondents. The year by racial/ethnic group interaction was significant (p < .001). Past-month cigar use decreased significantly from 2002 to 2016 among NH White and Hispanic respondents (ps = .001), whereas no change in prevalence was observed among NH Black (p = .779) and NH Other/Mixed Race/Ethnicity respondents (p = .152). Cigar use decreased for NH White men (p < .001) and did not change for NH White women (p = .884). Conversely, cigar use increased for NH Black women (p < .001) and did not change for NH Black men (p = .546). Conclusions Cigar use remains significantly more common among NH Black individuals in the United States and is not declining among NH Black and NH Other/Mixed Race/Ethnicity individuals over time, in contrast to declines among NH White and Hispanic individuals. Implications This study identified racial/ethnic differences in trends in past-month cigar use over 15 years among annual cross-sectional samples of US individuals. The highest prevalence of cigar use in 2016 was found among NH Black individuals. In addition, cigar use prevalence did not decline from 2002 to 2016 among NH Black and NH Other/Mixed Race/Ethnicity groups over time, in contrast to NH White and Hispanic groups. Further, cigar use increased over time for NH Black women. Targeted public health and clinical efforts may be needed to decrease the prevalence of cigar use, especially for NH Black individuals.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Y. Goldsmith ◽  
Betsy Diamant-Cohen

What Is International Youth Literature? Why Does It Matter?International youth literature—translated books and English-language imports first published outside of the United States—can be the missing link in diversifying collections. Our diversity discussions tend to focus on multicultural literature that is originally published in the United States. At first glance diverse books from here and abroad can seem indistinguishable since they may have a similar focus or setting—that is, by race, ethnicity, ability, socioeconomic status, etc.—so it is not surprising that international books are often mistaken for multicultural books. Sometimes only a close look will reveal that a book has been translated or was first published in English abroad. Reading international youth literature moves us to the margins for a change and is an opportunity to see what the rest of the world thinks. By paying attention to this literature, we broaden our perspectives and validate international voices.


Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012826
Author(s):  
Shuang Rong ◽  
Guifeng Xu ◽  
Buyun Liu ◽  
Yangbo Sun ◽  
Linda G Snetselaar ◽  
...  

Background and Objectives:The mortality from Parkinson's disease (PD) and its long-term trends in the United States remains unknow. This study aimed to describe the trends in PD mortality in the United States from 1999 to 2019.Methods:We used data from the National Vital Statistics System, a nationwide, population-based, death registry, to determine national trends in PD mortality, in overall and by age, sex, race/ethnicity, urban-rural classification and geographic location. Analyses focused on the data from 479,059 deaths due to PD from 1999 to 2019. Joinpoint regression was performed to examine temporal trends in age-standardized death rates.Results:The age-adjusted mortality from PD increased from 5.4 (95% CI, 5.3-5.5) per 100,000 population in 1999 to 8.8 (95% CI, 8.7-8.9) per 100,000 population in 2019, with an average annual percent change of 2.4% (95% CI, 1.8%-3.0%). From 1999 to 2019, PD mortality increased significantly across all age groups, both sexes, various racial/ethnic groups and different urban-rural classifications. The US states and District of Columbia with reported death rates experienced an increase in PD mortality. Significant differences by sex and race/ethnicity were noted. Age-adjusted PD mortality rates were twice as high in men as in women, and were greater in Whites than other racial/ethnic groups.Discussion:From 1999 to 2019, the mortality from PD in the United States has increased significantly. The increase was regardless of age, sex, race/ethnicity, urban-rural classification and geographic location. A comprehensive evaluation of long-term trends in PD mortality is important for health care priority setting.


Neurology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 87 (22) ◽  
pp. 2300-2308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea L. Roberts ◽  
Norman J. Johnson ◽  
Jarvis T. Chen ◽  
Merit E. Cudkowicz ◽  
Marc G. Weisskopf

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