title: Hospitalizations during infancy in three population-based studies in Southern Brazil: trends and differentials.
abstract: Three cohort studies of children born in the urban area of Pelotas, Southern Brazil, were carried out in 1982, 1993, and 2004. The aim of these studies was to measure the occurrence of hospitalization in the first year of life and to examine the association between hospitalization and the cause of admission and sex, birth weight, and family income. Cause of admission was categorized as "diarrhea" and "all other causes". The frequency of children hospitalized at least once during their first year of life was 19.6% in 1982, 18.1% in 1993, and 19.2% in 2004. There was a marked reduction in hospitalizations due to diarrhea, but the frequency of hospitalization for all causes remained constant. In all three cohorts, infants from poorer families and those born weighing under 2,000g showed the highest frequencies of hospitalization due to diarrhea and all other causes, and the latter also showed a marked increase in hospitalizations due to all causes. These findings could be explained by an epidemic of preterm births in the study population.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Epidemiologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, Brasil. amatija@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matijasevich
authors.forename: Juraci A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cesar
authors.forename: Iná S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Aluísio J D
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.forename: Maria Alice S O
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Dode
authors.forename: Fernando C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.forename: Cesar G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Victora
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003968:Diarrhea, Infantile / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D012737:Sex Factors; D014505:Urban Population