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[Hospitalization of children in cities and rural areas. 2. What are their complaints? An analysis based on selected
Insights
Children in urban areas, particularly infants, show higher hospital admission rates for respiratory infections and fever. Cerebral concussion admissions were also elevated in the capital area compared to rural regions.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Hospital admission rates can vary significantly between urban and rural populations.
- Understanding these disparities is crucial for targeted public health interventions.
- Pediatric admissions are a key indicator of community health needs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze differences in hospital admission rates for children aged 0-14 between urban and rural districts in Denmark.
- To identify specific diagnoses contributing to these admission rate disparities.
- To compare urban vs. rural pediatric admission trends for respiratory infections, fever, cerebral concussion, and other selected conditions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Danish Patient Register for the year 1988.
- Included children aged 0-14 residing in Copenhagen city, Copenhagen County, Vestsjaelland County, and Sønderjylland County.
- Focused on selected diagnoses, including respiratory tract infections and cerebral concussion.
Main Results:
- Respiratory tract infections and fever in children aged 0-2 accounted for one-third of the urban-rural admission rate difference.
- Children in the capital area (Copenhagen) had higher admission rates for cerebral concussion across all age groups compared to rural counties.
- Minor differences in infectious disease admissions were observed for children aged 3-14.
Conclusions:
- Respiratory infections and fever are significant drivers of higher pediatric hospital admission rates in urban settings for young children.
- Cerebral concussion rates indicate a higher risk or reporting in urban pediatric populations.
- Further research is needed to explore the underlying causes of these urban-rural disparities in pediatric hospital admissions.
Abstract:
With the purpose of trying to analyse the difference in hospital admission of children in urban and rural districts, the sum of discharges of selected diagnoses was withdrawn from the Danish patient register for the year 1988. The data included children aged 0-14 living in Copenhagen city and the counties of Copenhagen, Vestsjaelland and Sønderjylland. A large group of diagnoses for respiratory tract infections and a variety of other diagnoses were chosen. The admission rate for the age group 0-2 years with upper and lower respiratory tract infections plus those with fever without an infectious focus is found to account for one third of the difference in admission rate between the urban and rural areas in this age group. For children aged 3-14 there is only a minor difference concerning the infectious diseases. All age groups of children in the capital area have higher admission rates for cerebral concussion than children in the two rural counties. As for the remainder of the selected diagnoses, there is a tendency, to slightly more admissions in the county of Copenhagen and particularly in Copenhagen city.