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Postneonatal Mortality Rate
Postneonatal mortality, like neonatal mortality, is a subset of infant
mortality. Postneonatal mortality is defined as those infant deaths in which
the infant is more than 27 days and less than one year of age. Of the 337
infant deaths occurring in Arkansas in 1996, 133 (roughly 39 percent) were
postneonatal deaths.
While neonatal deaths frequently arise out of conditions originating in the
prenatal period, postneonatal deaths are more likely to reflect the
socio-economic conditions of the home (e.g. quality of care and nutrition), as
well as infectious diseases and other causes.
The Postneonatal Mortality Rate is conceptually very similar to the Infant and
Neonatal Mortality Rates. Consequently, the calculations are quite
comparable. The Postneonatal Mortality Rate = (133 / 36,356) X 1,000 = 3.7
postneonatal deaths per 1,000 live births. The U.S. rate in 1996 was 2.5
postneonatal deaths per 1,000 live births.
The map indicates that the counties with high postneonatal mortality rates are
relatively scattered. There appears to be be some clustering in the southwest
quadrant of the state, however, and in the northern Delta counties.
It should be noted that there are several counties with high postneonatal
rates and low neonatal rates or vice verse. Such situations may warrant
further investigation.
Madison County had the highest postneonatal mortality rate, at 11.7
postneonatal deaths per 1,000 live births. The counties with the lowest rates
each had two or fewer postneonatal deaths in the entire five-year period.
This may be as much a reflection of the relatively small populations as a
commentary on the health conditions of those counties.
For the time period from 1992-1996, Health Management Area 9 had the highest
average postneonatal mortality rate, by far, at 6.3, while all other health
management areas had rates of less than 5.0. ADH Health Management Area 4 had
the lowest average rate at 3.2.
As with the infant and neonatal mortality rates, postneonatal mortality rates
differ significantly by race. The average postneonatal mortality rate for
Whites was 3.3. For Blacks, the rate was 5.7.
Like the state neonatal mortality rate, the postneonatal mortality rate
increased slightly, though not significantly in 1996, rising from 3.5 in 1995
to 3.7 in 1996.
The U.S. postneonatal mortality rate, like the neonatal mortality rate, has
been declining steadily. In 1996, the rate dropped to a low of 2.5.
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