United States infant mortality rate

Other well-known factors also contribute to elevated risk of infant death. United States infant mortality rates increased significantly between 2001 and... 

Furthermore, health policy makers in Europe and Canada can point to widely respected statistics gathered annually by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to which the United States ranks remarkably low in the OECD on many standard health status indicators, such as the infant mortality rate, life expectancy at birth and at age 60, and potential years of life lost per 100,000 population, that is, life... 

At the present time, according to the World Health Organization, 35 countries have a lower infant mortality rate than the United States, including Cuba and Poland.6... 

Recent statistical studies provide ample evidence that private water companies often provide more disease prevention than do public companies. One widely cited study finds that privatizing water systems in Argentina reduced infant mortality rates by 25 percent or more. Similarly, one of the strongest forces behind the privatization of municipal water companies in the United States today is that the publicly owned systems lack the capital necessary to bring their systems into compliance with current EPA standards. In early twentieth-century America, private water companies were more likely than public companies to have installed filtration systems. 

Fig. 2 Infant (under 1 year) mortality rates in the United States, 1940-2000. 

Rotavirus. Rotavirus causes infant diarrhea, a disease which has major socio-economic impact. In developing countries it is the major cause of death in infants worldwide, causing up to 870,000 deaths per year. In the United States, diarrhea is still a primary cause of physician visits and hospitalization, although the mortality rate is relatively low. Studies have estimated a substantial cost benefit for a vaccination program in the United States (67—69). Two membrane proteins (VP4 and VP7) of the vims have been identified as protective epitopes and most vaccine development programs are based on these two proteins as antigens. Both live attenuated vaccines and subunit vaccines are being developed (68). 

Respiratory Syncytial Virus. Respiratory syncytial vims (RSV) causes severe lower respiratory tract disease in infants. It is the major cause of hospitalization in the United States ( 90,000 events/yr) and it has a high mortality rate in neonates and other high risk populations, such as the geriatric population (51). Development of an RSV vaccine has always been a major priority, however, earlier attempts have mostly failed (70). 

It is estimated that about 2000 years ago, the average life expectancy (birth to death) of a Roman citizen was 22 years (W6). From then to 1900 it increased to 47 years in the United States and over the subsequent nine decades (1992) increased to 75.8 years (G16) (Fig. 1). This remarkable increase in life expectancy since 1900 is due primarily to the prominent decline in neonatal, infant, and maternal mortality rates, along with the control of various infectious diseases. More recently, there has been a significant, albeit much less, reduction in early deaths due to coronary heart disease and stroke (i.e., due to atherosclerosis), as well as to improved management and treatment of diabetes mellitus, cancer, and various other chronic disorders. Nevertheless, the maximum theoretical life span has possibly increased slightly over the past many centuries. The oldest-ever documented person in the world, Jeanne Calment of France, died on August 4, 1997, at the age of 122 years, 5 months, and 14 days (W10). It has recently been suggested that the maximum life span could be extended to 130 years or more (M6). 

Figure 10 Fetal alcohol syndrome rates in the United States, 1980-88. These rates have shown a steady increase due to increased recognition and reporting of this condition by physicians and not necessarily due to increased alcoholism among women of childbearing age. (Reproduced from Birth Defects and Infant Mortality, Infant Mortality Report Series, vol. 1, no. 2, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, with permission from March of Dimes.)...

The state of Kerala in southern India has shown how to control population growth, even though it is not wealthy.88 Its per capita income ( 300/yr) is 1/65 that of the United States. Its population of 30 million people lives in land about the size of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Life expectancy is high. Infant mortality is low. The birth rate is lower, and the literacy rate higher, than in the United States. The state spends 60% of its budget on health and education. Women and men are treated equally under this system. It may also have old-age pensions. The secret to the control of population in developing nations appears to be to improve the social status of women and to focus on the satisfaction of basic human needs.89... 

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