title: Subjective health complaints among boys and girls in the Swedish HBSC study: focussing on parental foreign background.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The general aim of this study was to explore the associations between foreign extraction and subjective health complaints (SHC) among school-aged children in Sweden.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were obtained from the global cross-sectional survey Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC), 1997/1998, 2001/2002, and 2005/2006. A total of 11,972 pupils in grades 5, 7 and 9 participated in the survey. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate remaining risk of SHC among the subgroups of pupils. The analyses were adjusted for socio-demographic indicators, grade and measurement year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parental background: Swedish n = 9,585, mixed n = 1,263, and foreign n = 1,124. The results showed an increased risk of SHC among girls with a foreign background OR 1.27 (95% CI 1.04-1.55) compared with girls with a Swedish background and among girls in single-adult households OR 1.42 (95% CI 1.20-1.67) compared with girls in two-adult households. No such differences were shown among boys.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A significantly increased risk of ill health remained in girls of foreign background after adjustment for socio-demographic indicators, grade and measurement year.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Mid Sweden University, 851 70 Sundsvall, Sweden. heidi.carlerby@miun.se
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Carlerby
authors.forename: Eija
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Viitasara
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Knutsson
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gillander Gådin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000208:ethnology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology