title: Population-based study of acute respiratory infections in children, Greenland.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark. ako@ssi.dk
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sørensen
authors.forename: Preben
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Homøe
authors.forename: Kåre
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mølbak
authors.forename: Freddy Karup
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: Tine
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mortensen
authors.forename: Hanne
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Elberling
authors.forename: Anne Mette
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Eriksen
authors.forename: Ove Rosing
authors.initials: OR
authors.lastname: Olsen
authors.forename: Mads
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Melbye
mesh_terms: 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