title: [Infectious diseases and use of health care resources in children less than 2 years-old who attend kindergarten].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Parents often ask paediatricians for advice about the best way to care for their children. There are discrepancies in the literature on this subject. The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of attending kindergartens on the risk of acute infections and the use of health care resources in children less than 24 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective longitudinal study was conducted on two cohorts of children 0-24 months (born between 1 January and 30 September 2010), who were grouped according to whether they attended kindergarten or not, and were usually seen in 33 pediatric clinics of the Principality of Asturias Public Health Service.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A total of 975 children were studied, of whom 43.7% attended a kindergarten at 24 months. Attending kindergarten increases the risk of pneumonia by 131%, recurrent wheezing by 69%, bronchitis by 57%, and otitis media by 64%. Early exposure to kindergarten increases the risk of pneumonia from 2.31 to 2.81, and the mean emergency room visits from 1 to 2.3. The mean antibiotic cycle is 1.7 in children who do not go to kindergarten, 3.4 if started within the first 6 months, and 2 if they start at 18 months. Day-care attendance is a risk factor of infectious diseases that increases if attending kindergartens from an early age.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Salud de Otero, Oviedo, Asturias, España. Electronic address: begoa.dominguez@gmail.com.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Domínguez Aurrecoechea
authors.affiliation: Centro de Salud de La Corredoria, Oviedo, Asturias, España.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fernández Francés
authors.affiliation: Centro de Salud de Pola de Laviana, Pola de Laviana, Asturias, España.
authors.forename: M Á
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: Ordóñez Alonso
authors.affiliation: Centro de Salud Puerta de la Villa, Gijón, Asturias, España.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: López Vilar
authors.affiliation: Centro de Salud de Sabugo, Avilés, Asturias, España.
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Pérez Candás
authors.affiliation: Centro de Salud de Luanco, Luanco, Asturias, España.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Merino Ramos
authors.affiliation: Centro de Salud Mieres Norte, Mieres, Asturias, España.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aladro Antuña
authors.affiliation: Centro de Salud de Nava, Nava, Asturias, España.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Fernández López
authors.affiliation: Centro de Salud de Sabugo, Avilés, Asturias, España.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pérez López
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006295:Health Resources / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007239:Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012574:Schools
keywords: Acute infections; Children under 2 years; Consumer health resources; Consumo de fármacos; Consumo recursos sanitarios; Drug consumption; Guarderías; Infecciones agudas; Kindergarten; Lactantes