Objectives: Illinois vital records for 1982/1983 and US census income data for 1980 were analyzed to ascertain the relationship of income incongruity, race, and very low birthweight.
Methods: Positive income incongruity was considered present when study infants resided in wealthier neighborhoods than non-Latino Whites at the same level of parental education attainment and marital status.
Results: The odds ratios of very low birthweight for African Americans (n = 44,266) and Whites (n = 27,139) who experienced positive income incongruity were 0.7 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.5, 0.9) and 0.6 (95% CI = 0.5, 0.9), respectively.
Conclusions: Positive income incongruity is associated with lower race-specific rates of very low birthweight.