Dataset Information

Association of census tract-level incarceration rate and life expectancy in New York State.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Jail incarceration rates are positively associated with mortality at the county level. However, incarceration rates vary within counties, limiting the generalisability of this finding to neighbourhoods, where incarceration may have the greatest effects.

Methods

We performed a cross-sectional analysis of census tract-level state imprisonment rates in New York State (2010) and life expectancy data from the US Small-area Life Expectancy Estimates Project (2010-2015). We modelled fixed-effects for counties and controlled for tract-level poverty, racial makeup, education, and population density from the American Community Survey (2010-2014), and violent crime data from the New York City Police Department (2010). We also examined interactions between incarceration rate and poverty, racial makeup, and population density on life expectancy.

Results

Life expectancy at the highest quintile of incarceration was 5.5 years lower than in the lowest quintile, and over 2 years lower in a fully-adjusted model. Census tract-level poverty and racial makeup both moderated the association between incarceration and life expectancy.

Conclusion

Census tract-level incarceration is associated with lower life expectancy. Decarceration, including alternatives to incarceration, and release of those currently incarcerated, may help to improve life expectancy at the neighbourhood level.

SUBMITTER: Holaday LW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9052201 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Association of census tract-level incarceration rate and life expectancy in New York State.

Holaday Louisa W LW Howell Benjamin B Thompson Keitra K Cramer Laura L Wang Emily Ai-Hua EA

Journal of epidemiology and community health 20210427 10

<h4>Background</h4>Jail incarceration rates are positively associated with mortality at the county level. However, incarceration rates vary within counties, limiting the generalisability of this finding to neighbourhoods, where incarceration may have the greatest effects.<h4>Methods</h4>We performed a cross-sectional analysis of census tract-level state imprisonment rates in New York State (2010) and life expectancy data from the US Small-area Life Expectancy Estimates Project (2010-2015). We mo ...[more]

PMID: 33906904

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Project description:Policy Points Changes in US state policies since the 1970s, particularly after 2010, have played an important role in the stagnation and recent decline in US life expectancy. Some US state policies appear to be key levers for improving life expectancy, such as policies on tobacco, labor, immigration, civil rights, and the environment. US life expectancy is estimated to be 2.8 years longer among women and 2.1 years longer among men if all US states enjoyed the health advantages of states with more liberal policies, which would put US life expectancy on par with other high-income countries.ContextLife expectancy in the United States has increased little in previous decades, declined in recent years, and become more unequal across US states. Those trends were accompanied by substantial changes in the US policy environment, particularly at the state level. State policies affect nearly every aspect of people's lives, including economic well-being, social relationships, education, housing, lifestyles, and access to medical care. This study examines the extent to which the state policy environment may have contributed to the troubling trends in US life expectancy.MethodsWe merged annual data on life expectancy for US states from 1970 to 2014 with annual data on 18 state-level policy domains such as tobacco, environment, tax, and labor. Using the 45 years of data and controlling for differences in the characteristics of states and their populations, we modeled the association between state policies and life expectancy, and assessed how changes in those policies may have contributed to trends in US life expectancy from 1970 through 2014.FindingsResults show that changes in life expectancy during 1970-2014 were associated with changes in state policies on a conservative-liberal continuum, where more liberal policies expand economic regulations and protect marginalized groups. States that implemented more conservative policies were more likely to experience a reduction in life expectancy. We estimated that the shallow upward trend in US life expectancy from 2010 to 2014 would have been 25% steeper for women and 13% steeper for men had state policies not changed as they did. We also estimated that US life expectancy would be 2.8 years longer among women and 2.1 years longer among men if all states enjoyed the health advantages of states with more liberal policies.ConclusionsUnderstanding and reversing the troubling trends and growing inequalities in US life expectancy requires attention to US state policy contexts, their dynamic changes in recent decades, and the forces behind those changes. Changes in US political and policy contexts since the 1970s may undergird the deterioration of Americans' health and longevity.

Project description:ImportanceThe US has high rates of adverse birth outcomes, with substantial racial disparities augmented by stress and neighborhood disadvantage. Black people are more likely to live in neighborhoods with high rates of incarceration, which is a source of both stress and neighborhood disadvantage and, thus, may contribute to adverse birth outcomes.ObjectiveTo determine whether neighborhoods with high incarceration rates also have higher rates of adverse birth outcomes compared with neighborhoods with lower rates.Design, setting, and participantsThis cross-sectional study used publicly available data from the New York City Department of Health (2010-2014). Censored Poisson regression, with the US Census tract as the unit of analysis, was used to examine the association of neighborhood incarceration rate and birth outcomes. Multivariable models included percentage of births aggregated to the Census tract by maternal factors (age, parity, singleton vs multiple birth, insurance, and race) and neighborhood factors (poverty, education, and violent crime). Analyses were performed between May 2021 and October 2022.ExposureNeighborhood incarceration rate, categorized into quintiles.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was the incidence rate ratio (IRR) of preterm birth and low birth weight. Secondary outcomes were IRRs of very preterm birth, extremely preterm birth, and very low birth weight. Hypotheses were formulated before data collection.ResultsAmong 2061 Census tracts with 562 339 births, incarceration rates varied from 0 to 4545 people incarcerated per 100 000, and high-incarceration neighborhoods had more residents of Black race (54.00% vs 1.90%), living in poverty (32.30% vs 10.00%), and without a general educational development equivalent (28.00% vs 12.00%) compared with low-incarceration neighborhoods. In fully adjusted models, high-incarceration neighborhoods had a 13% higher IRR of preterm birth (IRR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.08-1.18), 45% higher IRR of very preterm birth (IRR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.24-1.71), 125% higher IRR of extremely preterm birth (IRR, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.59-3.18), 10% higher IRR of low birth weight (IRR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.05-1.16), and 52% higher IRR of very low birth weight compared with low-incarceration neighborhoods (IRR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.28-1.81).Conclusions and relevanceNeighborhood incarceration rate was positively associated with adverse birth outcomes, particularly those associated with infant mortality. Black people were significantly more likely to live in high-incarceration neighborhoods, suggesting that mass incarceration may contribute to racial disparities in birth outcomes.

Dataset Information

Association of census tract-level incarceration rate and life expectancy in New York State.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Association of census tract-level incarceration rate and life expectancy in New York State.

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