Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Separation of Immune Cell Subpopulations in Peripheral Blood Samples from Children with Infectious Mononucleosis
08:44

Separation of Immune Cell Subpopulations in Peripheral Blood Samples from Children with Infectious Mononucleosis

Published on: September 7, 2022

Infectious morbidity in 18-month-old children with and without older siblings

Katarina Hedin1, Malin Andre, Anders Håkansson

  • 1Unit of Research and Development, Kronoberg County Council, Växjö, Sweden. katarina.hedin@ltkronoberg.se

Family Practice
|June 19, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Having older siblings does not impact the number of infectious symptom days, doctor visits, or antibiotic prescriptions for 18-month-olds. This finding differs from previous research, possibly due to modern social changes.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Infections are common childhood health issues, with younger age and daycare attendance being significant factors.
  • The role of siblings in a child's infectious morbidity remains unclear.
  • Understanding factors influencing childhood infections is crucial for public health strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare infectious symptoms, physician consultations, and antibiotic prescriptions in families with one child versus multiple children.
  • To investigate the specific influence of older siblings on infectious illness in young children.
  • To provide data on sibling influence on pediatric infectious disease burden.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective, population-based survey was conducted over one month.
  • Parents of 789 families recorded infectious symptoms, doctor visits, and antibiotic use for their 18-month-old children.
  • Data on socio-economic factors, number of siblings, and daycare type were also collected.

Main Results:

  • No significant difference was observed in the number of symptom days between children with and without older siblings.
  • The presence of older siblings did not correlate with increased physician consultations.
  • Antibiotic prescription rates showed no significant variation based on the presence of older siblings.

Conclusions:

  • Older siblings do not appear to be a significant factor in the number of infectious symptom days, physician consultations, or antibiotic prescriptions for 18-month-old children in contemporary Sweden.
  • Shifting social dynamics and evolving attitudes towards antibiotic prescribing may explain the divergence from previous study findings.
  • Further research may be needed to explore these changing influences on childhood infectious diseases.
Abstract

Related Concept Videos

Relationship with Other Adult Family Members and Siblings01:29

Relationship with Other Adult Family Members and Siblings

Other adult family members and siblings play a crucial role in shaping children’s social and emotional development. While parents or primary caregivers are often the central figures in early attachment and socialization, other adults in a child’s life, such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles, can significantly influence developmental outcomes. These influences depend on each adult’s personality and may help compensate when a primary caregiver is emotionally distant or inconsistent. For...
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease01:29

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a widespread pathogen that primarily targets infants and young children but also poses a serious health risk to elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Belonging to the Pneumoviridae family, RSV is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus within the Pneumovirus genus. Its global health burden is significant, with millions of cases annually resulting in hospitalizations and mortality, particularly in resource-limited settings. Although most...
Infectious Diseases and Their Occurrence01:28

Infectious Diseases and Their Occurrence

Infectious diseases appear in populations through various transmission patterns, influenced by pathogen characteristics, population immunity, environmental conditions, and social behavior. Understanding these patterns is essential for effective public health surveillance and intervention. These categories—sporadic, outbreak, epidemic, pandemic, and endemic—help frame the nature and scope of disease events.Sporadic diseases occur irregularly and infrequently, without a predictable temporal or...
Factors Affecting the Risk of Infection01:26

Factors Affecting the Risk of Infection

The hosts' susceptibility to infection depends on several factors. The integrity of the skin and mucous membranes helps protect the body against microbial attacks. When the skin is altered, the chance of infection, limb loss, and even death increases.
The integrity and count of the white blood cells help the body resist pathogens and fight infection. When impaired, it reduces the body's resistance to pathogens. The acidic pH levels of the gastrointestinal, genitourinary tracts, and skin create...
Infection01:20

Infection

When a pathogen enters the body and reproduces, it can cause an infection, damage body cells, and cause illness symptoms that eventually lead to disease. Therefore, its prevention requires breaking the chain of infection.
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
Stages of Infection01:26

Stages of Infection

Stages of infection describe what happens to a susceptible host once a pathogen invades the human body. The stages of infection are incubation, prodromal, illness, stage of decline, and convalescence. The incubation stage is the period from exposure to a pathogen until symptoms start. The infected person is unaware of impending illness as the pathogens grow and multiply within the body. The duration may vary depending on the type of infection. The incubation period of measles averages ten to...