1 Office of Epidemiology and Biometry, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Because of a negative association found between infant mortality and water hardness in Great Britain, evidence for a similar relationship was sought in 81 cities of the United States. With infant mortality rate as the dependent variable, its relationships with five water indices and seven other environmental variables were examined. The results of multiple regression analyses found no evidence for a negative association between water hardness and infant mortality. The only independent variables significantly associated with the dependent variable were percent low income and a measure of industrialization.
Accepted on December 18, 1973