Primary Submission Category: Infants/children/youth
Size and Determinants of the Health Advantage of Military Affiliation among Infants in the United States
Authors: Christine Percheski, Jess Meyer, M. Evangeline Lopoo,
Presenting Author: Christine Percheski*
Previous research has found that infants born to military-affiliated families (identified as having their birth paid for by Tricare or Champus) from 1995 to 2005 were less likely to be born preterm or die in infancy (Lundquist and colleagues 2014). In this project, we analyze more recent birth data to identify: 1) the current size of this military-affiliated health advantage as proxied by preterm birth, birth weight, APGAR scores, and NICU hospitalization; and 2) the relative contributions of compositional differences (in mother and father demographic and health characteristics) versus health care utilization and pregnancy and birth experiences. We use natality data from Vital Statistics for births in the United States from 2017 through 2023. Our sample includes all births in the U.S. during these years to U.S.-born mothers age 20 or older at the birth with valid data on infant health outcomes (n = 18,733,790). In our preliminary results, we find that infants born to military families have a higher mean birthweight, are less likely to have a low birthweight, are less likely to be hospitalized in the NICU, and are less likely to be born preterm. There are no meaningful differences in APGAR scores. We find that differences in NICU admissions between infants born to military families versus non-military families are completely explained by observed mother, father, pregnancy, and health care characteristics. In contrast, differences in birthweight and preterm births are not fully accounted for by measured compositional characteristics, pregnancy experiences, or health care experiences. Our findings suggest that the social and material supports experienced by military families may be contributing to positive health outcomes for infants.