Population-Based Study of Acute Respiratory Infections in Children, Greenland

• Other Authors: Koch, Anders, Sørensen, Per, Homøe, Preben, Mølbak, KÃ¥re, Pedersen, Freddy Karup, Mortensen, Tine, Elberling, Hanne, Eriksen, Anne Mette, Olsen, Ove Rosing, Melbye, Mads
• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Research; Acute Disease; Cohort Studies; Female; Greenland; Humans; Infant; Interviews as Topic; Inuits; Male; Prospective Studies; Respiratory Tract Infections; Statistics; Nonparametric; Ari; Sisimiut; inuit; inuits
• Online Access: http://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/13832/

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.