Study highlights child death toll

Experts are monitoring the health of 10,000 babies born in Bradford

More children are likely to die in infancy in West Yorkshire than any other area except the West Midlands, says a report commissioned by the BBC.

The infant mortality rate in the area covered by Radio Leeds was 7.2 per 1,000 births in 2005, says the Changing UK report from Sheffield University.

The report also shows a sharp jump since the 1980s in the number of people in the area living in poverty.

It was commissioned to assess how much communities have changed since 1960.

The high rate of children dying in their first year reflects research carried out in 2006 by the charity Bliss, which supports families with premature children.

It found that North Kirklees (11.2 deaths per 1,000) and Central Bradford (10.4) had rates twice as high as the national average of 5.2 in the period 2002-2004.

Pioneering study

Just a few months later, the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust launched a pioneering study into the health of 10,000 babies born in the city from 2007-2009.

Bradford was chosen for the research because of its high infant mortality rate and diverse ethnic make-up.

Mothers-to-be were recruited and the first babies to be examined by the project were born in 2007.

Their health will be scrutinised from pregnancy to adulthood by experts from the hospital trust.

Miles Scott, the trust's chief executive, said: "By pinpointing the causes of disease we will have the key to improving not only the health of Bradford people but the health of others around the country and the world."

The Changing UK survey also shows a big rise in the number of people living in the Radio Leeds area who are deemed to be "breadline poor" - which it defines as people living below a relative poverty line and, as such, excluded from participating in the norms of society.

In 1980, 17.4% of the area's population were deemed to be poor, rising to 23.4% in 1990 and 30.8% in 2000 - putting it among the six worst areas in England.