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Increasing hospitalizations for serious skin infections in New Zealand children, 1990-2007

C E O'Sullivan1, M G Baker, J Zhang

  • 1Department of Public Health, Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago, New Zealand.

Epidemiology and Infection
|December 16, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Serious skin infections in New Zealand children have nearly doubled, with Māori and Pacific children disproportionately affected. Worsening health inequalities may be a contributing factor to this growing public health concern.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric infectious diseases
  • Epidemiology
  • Public health

Background:

  • Serious skin infections in children represent a significant health burden in New Zealand.
  • Incidence rates in New Zealand are notably higher compared to international benchmarks.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To delineate the epidemiology of serious skin infections among children in New Zealand.
  • To track temporal shifts in the distribution and incidence of these infections.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of national public hospital discharge data for pediatric patients diagnosed with serious skin infections.
  • Comparison of patient and admission characteristics between two distinct time periods: 1990–1999 and 2000–2007.

Main Results:

  • The incidence of serious skin infections in children nearly doubled from 298.0/100,000 in 1990 to 547.3/100,000 in 2007.
  • Elevated rates were observed in boys, preschool-aged children, Māori and Pacific children, and those residing in deprived urban areas, particularly in northern regions.
  • Significant increases in infection rates were noted over time among Māori and Pacific children and those from highly deprived areas.

Conclusions:

  • Serious skin infections pose an escalating challenge for the pediatric population in New Zealand.
  • Growing ethnic and socioeconomic health disparities appear to be significant drivers of the increasing incidence of these infections.

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