HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS FOR LOWER RESPIRATORY-TRACT ILLNESS BEFORE THE AGE OF 2 YEARS IN WESTERN-AUSTRALIA

In this study, hospital admissions for lower respiratory tract illness before two years of age have been documented for all children born in Western Australia in 1986. Admissions data were linked to birth and d eath records for individual children. Of the total cohort, 5% of non-A boriginal and 17% of Aboriginal children were hospitalised only once f or lower respiratory tract illness; 1% of non-Aboriginal and 11% of Ab original children had repeated admissions. Perinatal conditions compri sed the greatest proportion of the admissions for non-Aboriginal child ren, and pneumonia for Aboriginal children. Non-Aboriginal children ha d decreasing admission rates from the neonatal period onwards, whereas those for Aboriginal children increased. For all children, those of l ow or high birthweight, male sex and those with young or unmarried mot hers or residing in country regions were more likely to be admitted. T his research has highlighted potential risk factors for serious respir atory illness in early childhood and has shown the feasibility of usin g linked data for the total population to formulate and test hypothese s relating to respiratory morbidity.