Table 7 Characteristics of children presenting to ED in the first five years of life: children presenting with allergy compared to all other children presenting
Characteristic | Child with allergy presentation (n = 160) | Child with other ED presentation (n = 1776) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | |
Gender | ||||
Male | 83 | 52.9% | 948 | 54.2% |
Female | 74 | 47.1% | 801 | 45.8% |
Maternal Indigenous status | ||||
Not indigenous | 151 | 98.1% | 1665 | 97.8% |
ATSI | 3 | 1.9% | 37 | 2.2% |
Birthweight | ||||
< 2500 g | 3 | 1.9% | 43 | 2.5% |
≥ 2500 g | 155 | 98.1% | 1704 | 97.5% |
Season of birth* | ||||
Springa | 113 | 70.6% | 1064 | 59.9% |
Summer | 13 | 8.1% | 267 | 15.0% |
Autumn | 4 | 2.5% | 56 | 3.2% |
Winter | 30 | 18.8% | 389 | 21.9% |
Maternal education | ||||
Did not complete high school | 41 | 25.6% | 376 | 21.2% |
Completed high school | 119 | 74.4% | 1400 | 78.8% |
Household income (annual) | ||||
< $40,000 | 38 | 27.9% | 335 | 22.7% |
$40,000 - $70,000 | 40 | 29.4% | 509 | 34.5% |
> $70,000 | 58 | 42.6% | 632 | 42.8% |
Mother’s country of birth | ||||
Australia/ New Zealand | 99 | 61.9% | 1069 | 60.2% |
Other | 61 | 38.1% | 707 | 39.8% |
Other children living in household | ||||
0 | 37 | 35.9% | 463 | 41.4% |
1–2 | 59 | 57.3% | 564 | 50.4% |
3 or more | 7 | 6.8% | 91 | 8.1% |
Mother has asthma* | ||||
Yesb | 9 | 8.0% | 53 | 3.7% |
No | 103 | 92.0% | 1365 | 96.3% |
Child care attendance by 1 yr | ||||
Yes | 30 | 27.3% | 318 | 27.0% |
No | 80 | 72.7% | 861 | 73.0% |
Child care attendance by 3 yrs | ||||
Yes | 43 | 61.4% | 590 | 69.7% |
No | 27 | 38.6% | 257 | 30.3% |
Breast feeding before discharged newborn | ||||
Yes | 87 | 54.4% | 1022 | 57.5% |
No | 9 | 5.6% | 117 | 6.6% |
Not asked | 64 | 40.0% | 637 | 35.9% |
Breast feeding duration | ||||
0–3 months | 16 | 25.0% | 213 | 27.8% |
3–6 months | 16 | 25.0% | 185 | 24.1% |
> 6 months | 32 | 50.0% | 369 | 48.1% |
Age at first consumption of solids | ||||
0–3 months | 3 | 2.9% | 47 | 4.1% |
3–6 months | 70 | 68.6% | 754 | 65.9% |
> 6 months | 29 | 28.4% | 344 | 30.0% |
Smoking during pregnancy | ||||
Yes | 44 | 27.8% | 460 | 26.0% |
No | 114 | 72.2% | 1311 | 74.0% |
Epi-pen prescribed | ||||
none | 159 | 99.4% | 1768 | 99.5% |
1+ prescriptions | 1 | 0.6% | 8 | 0.5% |
Use of corticosteroids | ||||
none | 143 | 89.4% | 1586 | 89.3% |
1+ prescriptions | 17 | 10.6% | 190 | 10.7% |
Use of antibiotics | ||||
none | 149 | 92.6% | 1613 | 89.9% |
1+ prescriptions | 11 | 7.4% | 163 | 10.1% |