Infant mortality rates vary greatly by ZIP code in Texas, even among those directly bordering each other, a study from The University of Texas System and UT Health Northeast found. Central Austin ZIP codes are no exception, according to the report.

Using a new analysis and mapping tool created by the researchers behind the study, users can view infant mortality rates per 1,000 births in individual ZIP codes and by race or ethnicity.

Central Austin ZIP codes reflect the same type of variance researchers saw throughout the state. For example, the 78751 ZIP code, which includes the Hyde Park neighborhood, saw an infant mortality rate of 0.00 infant deaths per 1,000 births while the neighboring 78723 ZIP code east of I-35 saw 5.75 infant deaths per 1,000 births.

Within ZIP codes, the infant mortality rate varied according to race or ethnicity. In the 78704 ZIP code, for example, the infant mortality rate was 4.94 infant dates per 1,000 deaths. Among the Hispanic population, the rate was 6.71 infant deaths per 1,000 births. Among the white population, the rate was 1.81.

Notably, no infant mortality rate is available for the ZIP codes of 78701, 78705 and 78722 because those areas recorded fewer than 400 births between 2011 and 2014.

Throughout the Austin area, eastern lying ZIP codes saw the highest infant mortality rates. Among the Austin area, eastern lying ZIP codes saw the highest infant mortality rates. Among the highest was the northeast ZIP code of 78754 with an infant mortality rate of 6.28 deaths per 1,000 births. In comparison, several ZIP codes primarily in Central and West Austin had zero infant deaths per 1,000 births, according to the report.

The data was collected over a four-year period from 2011 to 2014 in communities with 400 or more births. Researchers attributed the birth to the mother's ZIP code of residence at delivery and obtained data from the Texas Department of Health Services.

Highlighting discrepancies between ZIP codes allows public health officials to pinpoint more specific areas of need when addressing infant mortality, Dr. David Lackey, chief medical officer and vice chancellor for health affairs for the UT System, said in a news release.

"What this kind of analysis should enable us to do, moving forward, is to even more precisely identify what best practices to emulate, where to target our interventions, and how best to deploy of resources," Lackey said in the release.

An unrelated study published in August by the medical journal Obstetrics and Gynecology shows that Texas' maternal mortality rates nearly doubled between 2010 and 2014.

That same month, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill extending the amount of time a state task force has to study why so many mothers are dying in the year following childbirth, mostly from heart disease, drug overdoses or high blood pressure.

The task force is studying other states' best practices to curb their own maternal death rates, the health disparities and socio-economic statuses of the mothers who are dying in Texas, and ways to help women with postpartum depression.

View a summary of the statewide report on the infant mortality study here.