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Indigenous infants at greater risk for hospitalization during first year
Infants born in First Nations and Inuit populations were at significantly elevated risk for hospitalization compared with other ethnicities, due in part to higher rates of acute bronchiolitis and pneumonia, according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
“The high infant mortality rates suggest [a] high risk of severe infant morbidities in indigenous populations. Knowledge of these morbidities is essential for developing intervention measures to reduce infant health inequalities,” Hua He, MD, MSc, from the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai, and colleagues wrote. “… there is a lack of population-based data on infant morbidities or hospitalizations in indigenous populations in Canada and a lack of data on all-cause hospitalizations for Indigenous infants in most countries.”
To assess the differences between illnesses contracted by infants in indigenous populations, the researchers collected population-based birth and health administrative data concerning First Nations, Inuit and non-indigenous infants in Quebec, Canada. Hospitalization rates for infants younger than 1 year were compared between 1996 and 2010.
All-cause hospitalization rates were higher in the 19,770 First Nations and 3,930 Inuit infants included in the study when compared with those of the 225,380 non-indigenous infants. Of the 16 disease categories examined, a high-risk hospitalization status was observed in 12 for First Nations’ children, including respiratory and digestive system issues as well as congenital anomalies. Seven of these categories were also considered a high risk for hospitalization in Inuit infants.
Acute bronchiolitis (37.0 per 1,000 First Nations; 39.6 per 1,000 Inuit) and pneumonia (41.2 per 1,000 First Nations; 61.3 per 1,000 Inuit) were the main cause of frequent hospital visits for this population.
Although certain maternal attributes, such as age, education, marital status and place of residence, contributed slightly to these infants’ risk of hospitalization, maternal chronic illness and gestational complications did not.
“The excess risks of these diseases may be related to infant immunization and the quality of the living environment and may therefore be largely preventable, suggesting the need to improve infant immunization programs, promote breast-feeding, not smoking in the child’s living environment and improve living conditions in indigenous communities,” He and colleagues wrote. — by Katherine Bortz
Disclosure: Please see the study for a full list of relevant financial disclosures.
