DIFFERENTIAL EFFECT OF ECOLOGIC RISK-FACTORS ON THE LOW-BIRTH-WEIGHT COMPONENTS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN, MEXICAN-AMERICAN, AND NON-LATINO WHITEINFANTS IN CHICAGO

This study explored the relationship between ecologic risk factors and infant birthweight. A stratified analysis was performed on all Africa n-American, Mexican-American, and white infants born in Chicago in 199 0. One half of African-American mothers (n=26,799) resided in communit ies with multiple ecologic risk Factors, yet their very low birthweigh t rates were unaffected by the number of these factors. By contrast, o nly 5% of Mexican-American mothers (n=9913) and 5% of white mothers (n =13,596) lived in communities with multiple ecologic risk Factors. The ir very low birthweights were twice that of infants born to mothers wh o resided in communities with no ecologic risk Factors. These results indicate that ecologic risk Factors affect the very low birthweight ra tes of Mexican Americans and whites but not African Americans.