Geographic and Racial Disparities in Infant Hearing Loss.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Approximately 1 to 2 of every 1000 American newborns has hearing loss identified by newborn screening. This study was designed to determine if infant hearing loss is more common in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities.

Study design

In this retrospective study, we analyzed electronic medical record data using geostatistical models.

Setting

Infants were residents of Durham County, North Carolina, born in 2 hospitals of the Duke University Health System. This county includes the city of Durham and surrounding suburban and rural communities.

Subjects and methods

Subjects were hearing-screened newborns, born between 2005 and 2016, whose residential address was in Durham County, North Carolina. This was a retrospective study using medical record data

SUBMITTER: Lantos PM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6456438 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature