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America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being is a report that integrates data on 41 medical and social indicators of child well-being from 22 federal agencies. The 2012 report reveals some surprising improvements, but also a continued rise in child poverty from 2009 to 2010.
The following three positive indicators directly affect pediatric practice:
The rate of infants born to adolescents aged 15 to 17 years dropped (from 20 per 1,000 to 17 per 1,000).
The preterm birth rate (birth before 37 weeks' gestation) dropped for the fourth straight year (from 12.2% to 12.0%).
Infant mortality before the first birthday dropped (from 6.4 per 1,000 births to 6.1 per 1,000 births).
Other positive findings include the following:
The percentage of children younger than 17 years living in households classified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as food insecure dropped (from 23% to 22%).
The percentage of children younger than 6 years living in a home with a smoker dropped to 10% (from 15% in 2005).
Average national math scores increased 1 point in fourth- and eighth-grade students.
The rate of serious violent crime victimization of youth aged 12 to 17 years declined (from 11 to 7 crimes per 1,000 juveniles).
Adverse indicators related to the national economy and physical environment include the following:
The percentage of children and adolescents living in poverty increased (from 21% to 22%).
The percentage of children and adolescents living with at least one parent who is employed full time and year round decreased (from 72% to 71%).
The percentage of children and youth living in counties with one or more air pollutants above allowable levels rose (from 59% to 67%).
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. America's children in brief: Key national indicators of well-being, 2012. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. (http://www.childstats.gov/pdf/ac2012/ac_12.pdf)
Comment
Although data from surveys of national health and social and economic trends are limited by the methodology used, the data from this report comes from federal agencies with considerable experience and a history of reliability. The declining rates of preterm births and infants born to adolescents are encouraging. In contrast, the rising rate of child poverty is sobering. Among developed countries, the U.S. has one of the highest rates of child poverty. Children are the most affected by poverty, compared with the general population (13%) and Americans aged 65 and older (10%). Child poverty is perhaps the most important problem facing the pediatric community today.