Child health statistics

Published 12 December 2005 by ISD Scotland at: 

www.isdscotland.org/children

ISD Scotland have released today, information on childhood obesity and the health of young people. These are available on ISD’s website along with a wider package of statistics about children in Scotland.

Childhood obesity

Information on children who are overweight, obese and severely obese are published at:

www.isdscotland.org/Childhood_Obesity

The World Health Organisation has acknowledged that obesity is sweeping the world and affects over 1 billion people. Being overweight or obese during childhood can lead to physical and mental health problems in later life, such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, back pain, low self esteem and depression.

This release presents statistics on body mass index of children born between 1995 and 2001 and within school years 2000/01 to 2004/05. At all ages, the proportion of Scottish children who were estimated to be overweight, obese and severely obese were higher than expected and in many cases double the UK expected rate (based on the 1990 UK Reference Standard).

Points of interest:

• Using the 1990 UK reference standard (based on data collected during 1978 and 1990 – prior to the recent rise in obesity in children) it is expected that 15% of children would be overweight, 5% obese and 2% severely obese. These figures apply to children of any age and in any part of the UK, including Scotland.
• Among Scottish children born in 2001, 20.7% were overweight by the time they reached 3.5 years of age, 8.6% were obese, and 4.1% were severely obese.
• During school year 2004/05, older children had higher levels of obesity. By the time Scottish children reached 12  years,  more than one third (34.1%) were identified as being over weight, almost one in five (19.4%) obese and more than one in ten (11.2%) were severely obese.
• Levels of obesity in school children have increased over the last five years. The greatest rise is seen in primary 7 children where 34.1% overweight, 19.4% obese and 11.2% severely obese in 2004/05 compared with 30.4%, 16.6% and 9.3% respectively in 2000/01.

Hospital Admissions & Mortality in Children

Information on hospital admissions and mortality up to 31^st March 2005 are at:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Child_Morbidity and http://www.isdscotland.org/Child_Mortality

Acute hospitals provide a wide range of specialist care and treatment for children. This release presents information relating to children under 15 years of age who have been admitted to hospital as a planned (elective), emergency or day case admission and subsequently discharged.

Hospital admissions in children

• Childhood emergency admissions are more common than planned (elective) admissions.
• Children under 1 year have the highest rate of admission, largely accounted for by emergencies.
• Dental problems account for approximately 21 percent of all elective admissions, this is particularly noticeable within the 5-9 year age group. 
• Tonsil and adenoid operations are commonly performed on children, accounting for 6.2 percent of all operations performed for planned admissions.  This is most evident in the 5-9 year age group.

Mortality in children

• Although death in childhood is rare, Mortality rates are highest amongst children under 1 years of age with a rate of 49.6 deaths per 10,000 population.  This equates to more than half of the total deaths occurring in children under 15 years of age (266 out of 395).
• Mortality rates are higher in the more deprived areas, 3.2 deaths per 10,000 population in the least deprived areas compared with 6.8 deaths per 10,000 population in the most deprived areas.

Children with additional support needs

Information on children with additional support needs are published at:

www.isdscotland.org/SNSstats

This is the first time that statistics from the Support Needs System (SNS) have been published. This system is a sophisticated electronic system that records information about children with additional support needs.  Its main purpose is as a clinical tool to monitor children's progress and ensure that they have access to services or support they require.  The SNS is the only source of consistent and detailed data about children with a whole range of additional support needs in Scotland. This release includes summary statistics which show the problems encountered when children are being assessed, their disability characteristics, service requirements, availability and take-up.

For more information about ISD Scotland please see the Scottish Health Statistics website:

http://www.isdscotland.org

(Background:
Mortality statistics have been derived from the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS). This is an ISD Scotland National Statistics release.  National Statistics are produced to high professional standards and adhere to codes of practice.  They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs and they are produced free from any political interference.
ISD Scotland collects, collates and maintains a wide range of statistical information, mainly concerning health and health services.  By providing information, statistical services and effective use of information management and technology, ISD Scotland contributes to health improvement by informing decision making, research and debate within NHS Scotland, partner organisations, government departments and others.  Information Services (ISD Scotland) is part of the NHS National Services Scotland for NHS Scotland.)

For further information contact:

Elaine Strange                                                David Baird
e-mail: elaine.strange@isd.csa.scot.nhs.uk         e-mail: david.baird@isd.csa.scot.nhs.uk
phone: 0131 275 6822                                     phone: 0131 275 6040