Open AccessMaternal characteristics associated with injury-related infant death in West Virginia, 2010-2014
Author(s) -
Wilson A. Koech,
Toni Marie Rudisill,
Ian Richard Hildreth Rockett
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0220801
Subject(s) - medicine , infant mortality , ethnic group , demography , public health , pregnancy , west virginia , psychological intervention , injury prevention , environmental health , poison control , pediatrics , population , geography , psychiatry , nursing , archaeology , sociology , biology , anthropology , genetics
Although injury-related deaths have been documented among children and adult populations, insufficient attention has been directed towards injury-related infant deaths. The objective of this retrospective study was to investigate maternal and infant characteristics associated with injury-related infant deaths in West Virginia. Birth and infant mortality data for 2010–2014 were sourced from the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, Charleston. Relative risk was calculated using log-binomial regression utilizing generalized estimating equations. Maternal characteristics associated with injury-related infant mortality in West Virginia were race/ethnicity (X df = 2 2= 7.48, p = .03), and smoking during pregnancy (X df = 1 2 = 13.1 , p < .00). Risk of a Black Non-Hispanic infant suffering an injury-related death was 4.0 (95% CL 1.7, 9.3) times that of infants of other races/ethnicities. Risk of an infant dying from an injury-related cause, if the mother smoked during pregnancy, was 2.9 (95% CL 1.6, 5.0) times the risk of such a death if maternal smoking status during pregnancy is unknown or no smoking, controlling for race/ethnicity. This study provides important information to public health stakeholders at both the state and local levels in designing interventions for partial reduction or prevention of injury-related infant mortality in West Virginia.