| Summary - The Health of Minority Ethnic Groups '99 | ||||
|
Children's health The proportion of children reporting any longstanding illness ranged from 11% of Bangladeshi and Pakistani girls, to 29% of boys in the general population. Indian, Chinese and, particularly, Pakistani and Bangladeshi boys and girls were less likely than boys and girls in the general population to report any longstanding illness. Children from all the minority ethnic groups, except the Irish, were less likely than the general population to have had an illness or injury in the past two weeks that caused them to cut down on their usual activities. The prevalence of acute sickness ranged from 5% for Bangladeshi boys and Chinese girls, to 14% for Irish girls and children in the general population.
9% of boys and 8% of girls in the general population reported that their health was fair, bad or very bad. Although Pakistani and Bangladeshi boys reported lower rates of longstanding illness and acute sickness than the general population, they were more likely to report fair or bad health (13% and 16% respectively) than boys in general. Around one in ten boys (11%) and girls (9%) in the general population had consulted a GP in the past two weeks. The rate of GP consultation was highest in the Indian and Pakistani groups, although only Indian girls and Pakistani boys (both 16%) reported rates that were significantly higher than for the general population. There were some differences between the groups in hospital attendance, with South Asian and Chinese children (particularly girls) less likely to have been to a hospital outpatient clinic (attendance rates ranging for boys from 15% of the Bangladeshi group to 31% of the Irish group, and for girls from 11% of Chinese to 24% of the general population). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was designed to
detect behavioural, emotional or relationship difficulties in children,
and was administered to children aged 12% of boys and 8% of girls in the general population had high SDQ scores. The proportions were similar for minority ethnic groups, with the exception of Pakistani boys (22%), and of Pakistani, Indian and Irish girls (17%, 16% and 14% respectively), who were more likely to have high scores.
Around nine out of ten children in the general population had ever visited a dentist. Children in all minority ethnic groups, but especially Pakistani and Bangladeshi children, were less likely to have done so. Among those who had visited a dentist, the reason for the last visit was less likely to be for a routine check up, and more likely to be due to problems with their teeth, in all the minority ethnic groups than in the general population. Only 5% of boys and 6% of girls in the general population reported having toothache in the past four weeks. Similarly low rates were found among most minority ethnic groups; only Indian girls (at 12%) and Irish boys (at 10%) had significantly higher rates of toothache than the general population.
Annual major accident rates (as defined on page 13) were highest in the general population (31 per 100 boys and 22 per 100 girls) and in the Black Caribbean group (32 per 100 boys and 24 per 100 girls). Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese boys and girls all had rates significantly lower than for the general population, ranging from 8 per 100 for Bangladeshi and Chinese girls to 14 per 100 for Pakistani boys. Children were asked if they had, or had ever had, a range of respiratory symptoms including wheezing, breathlessness and asthma (diagnosed by a doctor). For both boys and girls, respiratory symptoms were more common in the general population, Black Caribbean and Irish groups than in the Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese groups, with Bangladeshi children having particularly low rates.
For boys the prevalence of wheezing in the last 12 months ranged from 12% in the Bangladeshi group to 20% in the Black Caribbean group. The prevalence of doctor-diagnosed asthma followed a similar pattern, being highest for Black Caribbean boys (30%) and lowest for Indian (17%), Pakistani (18%) and Bangladeshi (17%) boys. In girls, nearly four times as many in the Irish group (19%) as in the Bangladeshi group (5%) said that they had wheezed in the last 12 months. The prevalence of doctor-diagnosed asthma was significantly higher for Black Caribbean girls (24%) and significantly lower for Indian (13%), Pakistani (10%) and Bangladeshi (8%) girls than in the general population (19%).
Information on smoking was collected from all children aged 8-15 as part of a self-completion questionnaire. Among the general population, 19% of boys and 21% of girls reported ever having smoked a cigarette. Compared with the general population, Irish girls were more likely, and South Asian and Chinese children much less likely, to report ever having smoked. The proportion of Black Caribbean children who smoked was similar to the general population.
Questions about drinking alcohol were also part of the self-completion questionnaire for children aged 8-15. The highest reported rates of alcohol drinking were found in the general population (40% of boys and 32% of girls had ever drunk alcohol) and the Irish group (36% of girls and boys). Indian and Chinese children were much less likely to have drunk alcohol (rates ranging from 8% of Indian girls to 18% of Chinese boys). Rates of alcohol use were very low among Pakistani and Bangladeshi children (only 1% or 2% had ever drunk alcohol).
In the general population, the mean height for boys was 132.5 cm, and for girls, 130.6 cm. Mean weights in the general population were 32.9 kg for boys and 32.8 kg for girls. Regression analysis was used to control for age differences between groups. The charts show age-standardised regression coefficients for the minority ethnic groups for height and weight, which are equivalent to the absolute difference in mean height or weight, compared with the general population (which has a reference value of 0).
After controlling for age, Black Caribbean boys and girls were significantly taller than children in the general population (by 2.3 cm and 2.6 cm on average). Groups that were significantly shorter than the general population were Bangladeshi and Chinese boys (by 2.2 cm) and girls (by 3.0 cm and 4.0 cm respectively), and Indian girls (by 1.6 cm). After controlling for age, regression coefficients show that Bangladeshi boys were significantly lighter than boys in the general population (by 2.2 kg on average), and Black Caribbean boys were heavier (by 1.7 kg). Black Caribbean girls were heavier (by 3.6 kg) than girls in the general population. Girls in three minority ethnic groups were on average significantly lighter than girls in the general population Indian (by 1.6 kg), Bangladeshi (by 2.4 kg) and Chinese (by 3.6 kg). Mean BMI was higher for Black Caribbean boys and girls, and for Indian boys, than for children in the general population
Physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle for children. Children were asked about their participation in the last week in four categories of activity: sports and exercise, active play, walking and (for those aged 8-15) housework and gardening. Activities of at least 5 minutes' duration were covered, excluding those that took place at school. Walking was the most common activity, with 91% of boys and 92% of girls in the general population having taken at least one walk of 5 minutes or more in the past week. Indian, Pakistani and Chinese children, and Bangladeshi girls, were less likely to have done any walking (with rates ranging from 79% to 85%). Rates of active play were broadly similar to those for walking, ranging from 87% to 92% for boys, and from 81% to 89% for girls.
The greatest variation between minority ethnic groups was found for participation in sports and exercise. Almost two-thirds of boys in the general population (63%) had done at least 5 minutes' sports and exercise in the last week. The proportion was similar among Black Caribbean (68%) and Irish (64%) boys, but lower for boys in the other groups, ranging from 46% of Pakistani boys to 59% of Indian boys. Girls in all groups were less likely than boys to have participated in sports and exercise. Participation rates were 56% for girls in the general population, and similar for Black Caribbean (55%), Chinese (53%) and Irish (59%) girls. However, participation rates were much lower for South Asian girls, of whom only a third or fewer had participated in sports and exercise (rates ranging from 27% of Bangladeshi girls to 34% of Indian girls).
Among boys, observed mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) ranged from 109.3 mmHg in the Irish group to 113.5 mmHg in the Indian group. After controlling for age and height, Pakistani boys had significantly higher SBP than boys in the general population. For girls, observed mean SBP ranged from 108.7 mmHg among Chinese girls to 111.6 mmHg among Pakistani girls. After controlling for age and height, mean SBP among Black Caribbean girls was significantly lower than in the general population.
| ||||
