Geographic and racial variation in teen pregnancy rates in Wisconsin.

BACKGROUND Despite recent declines in teen birth rates, teenage pregnancy remains an important public health problem in Wisconsin with significant social, economic, and health-related effects. OBJECTIVE Compare and contrast teen birth rate trends by race, ethnicity, and county in Wisconsin. METHODS Teen (ages 15-19 years) birth rates (per 1000 teenage females) in Wisconsin from 2001-2010 were compared by racelethnicity and county of residence using data from the Wisconsin Interactive Statistics on Health. RESULTS Teen birth rates in Wisconsin have declined by 20% over the past decade, from 35.5/1000 teens in 2001 to 28.3/1000 teens in 2010-a relative decline of 20.3%. However, trends vary by race, with declines among blacks (-33%) and whites (-26%) and increases among American Indians (+21%) and Hispanics (+30%). Minority teen birth rates continue to be 3 to 5 times greater than birth rates among whites. Rates varied even more by county, with an over 14-fold difference between Ozaukee County (7.8/1000) and Menominee County (114.2). CONCLUSION Despite recent declines, teen pregnancy continues to be an important public health problem in Wisconsin. Pregnancy prevention programs should be targeted toward the populations and counties with the highest rates.