Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 20, 1993 TAG: 9305200142
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
Child Health USA '92, an annual report from the Public Health Service, said homicide has become the fourth-leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 9.
There were nearly 2.7 million cases of suspected child abuse or neglect in 1991, a 40 percent increase from 1985, it said. Some 1,383 children lost their lives to abuse or neglect in 1991.
Fifteen percent of children under age 6 have elevated levels of lead in their blood. Almost 3,900 children had contracted the AIDS virus as of last June 30, most by transmission from their mothers.
The report said 10 million children were not covered by health insurance in 1990 and 13.4 million were living in poverty.
And despite a sharp reduction in infant mortality since 1965, the United States still ranks 23rd among industrialized nations with a rate of 9.2 deaths per 1,000 live births. The infant mortality rate for black infants was 2.4 times the rate for white infants in 1990, it said.
Seven percent of all babies born in 1990 were low birth weight - below 5.5 pounds.
Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala said the report "shows how far we have to go toward better protecting these children and the future they represent."
The report was issued jointly by the National Center for Health Statistics and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, both part of the Public Health Service.
by CNB