Community Effects of Police-Related Deaths: Associations With Low Birthweight Births and Poverty Among US Counties

Abstract

Police-related deaths are a public health problem; however, their effects on community-level reproductive health outcomes remain largely unexplored. Among US counties with populations >100,000 (N = 580), we examined the longitudinal association between police-related deaths and rates of low birthweight (LBW) (<2,500 grams) deliveries, with counties stratified by quartiles of poverty. In the two lowest poverty quartiles, two or more police-related deaths were associated with a 5% (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02, 1.09) and 10% (IRR 1.10, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.15) higher rate of LBW births, respectively. The effect was not significant in the two highest poverty quartiles. No counties are “immune” from the important effects of police-related deaths and therefore the public health importance of police violence is a ubiquitous one regardless of social class or position.