July 25, 2024
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In 2022, the United States infant mortality rate was 3% higher than in 2021, the first increase in 20 years, according to new data from the CDC.
The United States infant mortality rate rose by 3% in 2022, the first increase in 20 years, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The data, released Thursday, shows there were 20,577 infant deaths in 2022, up from 19,928 in 2021.
The infant mortality rate generally has been decreasing since 1995, when consistent tracking of these numbers began. The new data shows the first statistically significant increase since 2002. But the 2022 infant mortality rate was still 19% lower than the 2002 rate.
New Jersey's infant mortality rate, at 3.57 deaths per 1,000 live births, was among the 12 states that had significantly lower rates than the national rate in 2022. Pennsylvania's infant mortality rate was slightly higher, at 5.69 deaths per 1,000 live births.
The United States has the highest infant and maternal mortality rates of any other high-income nation, according to a 2023 report by the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that supports independent research on health care issues.
"Infant health is one of the most important public health indicators that we have," Amanda Jean Stevenson, a demographer and assistant professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder, told CNN. "The fact that (infant mortality rates) are not continuing to decrease is a very big deal. Even flat infant mortality rates are not good. We need to see these numbers going down – and fast – because they are far too high."
Stevenson did not participate in compiling the CDC's new data, but she did see provisional data that the CDC had previously released, according to CNN.
Overall, the U.S. infant mortality rate was 5.61 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022. In 2021, the rate was 5.44 deaths per 1,000 live births. The CDC report did not examine the reason for the increase.
Infant mortality rates were highest among Black people (10.9) followed by Native Americans and Alaska Natives (9.06), Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (8.5), Hispanics (4.89), white people (4.52) and Asians (3.51).
The five leading causes of infant death in 2022 were the same as those in 2021. Congenital malformations accounted for 19.5% of the deaths, while disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight accounted for 14.0%. Sudden infant death syndrome caused 7.4% of deaths, unintentional injuries 6.6% and maternal complications 5.9%.
The infant mortality rate from maternal complications rose between 2021 and 2022 from 30.4 infant deaths per 100,000 live births to 33.1.
Other findings showed that:
• The 2022 neonatal mortality rate (infant deaths at less than 28 days) was 3% higher than in 2021. The neonatal mortality rate generally has declined since 1995 and decreased 23% since the last increase in 2002.
• The 2022 postneonatal mortality rate (infant deaths at 28 days or more) increased 4% from 2021. The postneonatal mortality rate also has generally declined since 1995 and decreased 11% since 2002.
