Aim: To describe household characteristics of admissions for lower respiratory tract infection (LRI) in children aged less than 2 years in Counties Manukau, South Auckland, New Zealand.
Methods: Prospective recruitment of all children aged less than 2 years admitted with a primary diagnosis of LRI from August to December 2007 with caregiver questionnaire.
Results: There were 580 admissions involving 465 children, 394 of whom had completed questionnaires (85% response rate). Sixty-four percent of admissions had a diagnosis of bronchiolitis and 26% of pneumonia. Relative risk of admission was 4.4 (95% CI 3.2-6.2) for Maori, 5.8 (4.4-7.9) for Pacific peoples compared with European/others and 3.1 (2.4-3.9) for the most deprived quintile compared with other quintiles. Longer total stay was more likely in those of younger age, who were premature or of Maori or Pacific ethnicity. Household characteristics demonstrate that 25% live with =7 other people, 33% live with 4 or more children, 65% of children are exposed to cigarette smoke and 27% use no form of heating.
Conclusions: Among young children admitted with LRI there is a high rate of exposure to known avoidable risk factors such as smoking, lack of heating and large households in overcrowded conditions.