Disparities in infant mortality: What's genetics got to do with it?

R. David and J. Collins

American Journal of Public Health, 2007, vol. 97, issue 7, 1191-1197

Abstract: Since 1950, dramatic advances in human genetics have occurred, racial disparities in infant mortality have widened, and the United States' international ranking in infant mortality has deteriorated. The quest for a "preterm birth gene" to explain racial differences is now under way. Scores of papers linking polymorphisms to preterm birth have appeared in the past few years. Is this strategy likely to reduce racial disparities? We reviewed broad epidemiological patterns that call this approach into question. Overall patterns of racial disparities in mortality and secular changes in rates of prematurity as well as birthweight patterns in infants of African immigrant populations contradict the genetic theory of race and point toward social mechanisms. We postulate that a causal link to class disparities in health exists.

Date: 2007
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2005.068387

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2005.068387_0

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.068387

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().