Infection is the major component of the disease burden in aboriginal and non-aboriginal Australian children: A population-based study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Infection accounts for the majority of pediatric mortality and morbidity in developing countries, but there are limited data on the infectious diseases burden in children from developed countries. We investigated reasons for hospitalization before age 2 years in a birth cohort of Western Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. METHODS: Data on live births between January 1990 and December 2000, and corresponding deaths and hospitalizations in the first 2 years of life, were obtained through linked population-based data. RESULTS: Almost half the cohort of 270,068 children were hospitalized at least once. Aboriginal children had significantly higher admission rates (2196..