Population-based study of acute respiratory infections in children, Greenland.
Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are frequent in Inuit children, in terms of incidence and severity. A cohort of 294 children <2 years of age was formed in Sisimiut, a community on the west coast of Greenland, and followed from 1996 to 1998. Data on ARI were collected during weekly visits at home and child-care centers; visits to the community health center were also recorded. The cohort had respiratory symptoms on 41.6% and fever on 4.9% of surveyed days. The incidence of upper and lower respiratory tract infections was 1.6 episodes and 0.9 episodes per 100 days at risk, respectively. Up to 65% of the episodes of ARI caused activity restriction; 40% led to contact with the health center. Compared with studies from other parts of the world, the incidence of ARI appears to be high in Inuit children.
Koch
Anders
A
Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark. ako@ssi.dk
Sørensen
Per
P
Homøe
Preben
P
Mølbak
Kåre
K
Pedersen
Freddy Karup
FK
Mortensen
Tine
T
Elberling
Hanne
H
Eriksen
Anne Mette
AM
Olsen
Ove Rosing
OR
Melbye
Mads
M
D000208:Acute Disease; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006116:Greenland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D004930:Inuit; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric