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Mississippi Kids Health Below Benchmark

By Associated Press

A new study shows the general health
status of Mississippi children did not meet a national benchmark. Mississippi Kids Health Below Benchmark

Published: Thu, October 09, 2008 - 7:45 am Last Updated: Thu, October 09, 2008 - 7:50 am

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A new study shows the general health
status of Mississippi children did not meet a national benchmark.
Over half of Mississippi's children age 17 or younger live in
poor or near-poor households, 31 percent live in middle income and
15 percent live in higher income households. About one-third live
in households where no one has an education beyond high school.
The study, by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, shows that in
infant mortality Mississippi ranks 45 nationally and in children's
general health, Mississippi ranks 45.
The study also shows children in poor families are 3.5 times as
likely to be in what the study calls "less than optimal health"
as those in higher income families.
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On the Net:
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study,
http://www.commissionhealth.org
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Information from: The Sun Herald, http://www.sunherald.com

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)