[Morbidity among infants from ethnic minorities]

The purpose of the study was to describe morbidity in ethnic minority children during their first year of life.

Baseline data from a cohort of 482 ethnic minority children born in Denmark in 1995. The mothers were interviewed in their homes, when on an average their children were 7 1/2 months old. The results were compared with those of a parallel cohort study of 5429 children born in 1995 by Danish citizens.

Out of all of the minority children, 86% had had a cold, 33% had had vomits, 29% had had diarrhea, 27% had had fever without other symptoms, 21% had suffered from middle ear infection, 21% had been wheezing, 21% had had eczema/rash, and 10% had suffered from pneumonia. Minority children aged 3-6 months had more often had gastrointestinal symptoms, middle ear infection, high fever without other symptoms and had because of illness more often been seen by a family doctor, an emergency doctor or had visited an emergency room than was the case with Danish children. Minority children had more seldom than Danish children been ill or had a cold or wheeze, and had more seldom been given medication.

Slightly increased morbidity from some illnesses was found among minority children and a little less from other illnesses compared with Danish children. However, the differences were not substantial.