Intussusception in early childhood: a cohort study of 1.7 million children.
OBJECTIVE
To describe incidence and temporal trends of intussusceptions in Danish children during 1980 to 2001.


METHODS
A population-based cohort study was conducted of 1.67 million children who were younger than 5 years during 1980 to 2001 and were followed up for 6.66 million person-years. The Danish National Patient Registry was used to identify cases of intussusception in the cohort. Age-specific incidence rates were main outcome measure.


RESULTS
A total of 1814 cases of intussusception among children who were younger than 5 years were reported from 1980 to 2001. The incidence rate remained fairly constant during 1980 to 1990 but decreased by 55% (95% confidence interval: 43%-65%) from 1990 to 2001. The reduction was most pronounced among children aged 3 to 5 months.


CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of intussusception among Danish children declined significantly during the 1990s, particularly among infants 3 to 5 months of age.
Fischer
Thea Kølsen
TK
Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, MS-A34, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. thf7@cdc.gov
Bihrmann
Kristine
K
Perch
Michael
M
Koch
Anders
A
Wohlfahrt
Jan
J
Kåre
Mølbak
M
Melbye
Mads
M
D017677:Age Distribution; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007443:Intussusception / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D012044:Regression Analysis; D017678:Sex Distribution